All for the glory of God!

Often we can hear this phrase and wonder how to live it with our own life. As we hear Paul say in 1 Corinthians 10.31-11.1, "Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God." There is an element of seeking the advantage of others and not just our own benefit. The sense of this is to have Jesus as our model. Yet this can be somewhat confusing because we can start to copy or imitate his way of life without actually entering into a deeper relationship with him. We can start to make our lives our own work rather than a way of cooperating with the love of God that dwells within us. I believe that what Paul is proposing is that we are intentionally present to the other by seeking what God would seek for their good and not just to suit ourselves.

This is a radical call to action because it asks us to be present to God not just in our prayer but with our life. This intentional living seeks to allow our relationships to founded on that desire to be prayerfully present at all times. The danger is that we can start to believe this is all our work and that we have to become overly pious and pretentious in appearing to be holy. This is not what Paul is asking us to do. Essentially, I believe it is by becoming more fully human and fully alive in the way which may be unique to ourselves and our way of life. 

We see this in the gospel where Jesus reaches out to the leper and cures him so that he may be integrated back into his community. The concern here is not that he does a good thing for the person who comes to him for healing but he actually seeks the deeper need of the person to be loved back into life. So often we hear about situations where people are called unclean or untouchable. Where people exclude others and push them to the fringe of society where they can be easily forgotten or overlooked. Out of sight and out of mind! Yet Jesus brings them back to the centre and challenges us to recognize their humanity. To see them as created in the image and likeness of God. This I believe is at the heart of this weekends readings and the heart of our prayer. That we take on the compassionate heart of God and live out of that place in a way which gives glory to God in everything we do.