Transcript of Abbot Clement
=s Talk on Monday, April 26, 2004It
=s obvious if you want to keep your car in good shape you have to take it and have it checked every now and then. In the spiritual life we need a check up on our own life and the essential matters are really are our priorities. I was wondering if we could use our imagination and allow the Lord to walk with us at the seashore, as he walked with Peter, and let the Lord ask us some questions.What if the first question the Lord asked us as we walked along the shore was:
ADo you love my Father who created the whole universe for your delight?@ Would you really say Ayes@ to that? Some people in the church today have difficulty even calling the Father, Father . Which means they do not reflect very deeply on the scripture or are they sufficiently aware that Jesus reveals that He can=t do enough for the Father. He=s so aware of the sheer goodness, mercy, kindness, and so many attributes of the Father that he can=t do enough. Even the passion is not enough. He=s done all He can in the passion so there=s nothing left to do but He=d like to do more.We shouldn
=t have too much trouble saying yes, at least as an initial response. That yes we would like to love the Father with our whole being. What would Jesus then answer in response? What would he say if he said to Peter in response, Afeed my lambs.@ What would he say? He would probably say, AStay away from all conscious sin, even venial sin.@ Because the Father is all holy. We can=t do this on our own but we can with the help of grace and that=s precisely why we are here in the monastery.The second question Jesus might ask would be:
ADo you believe that my Father sent me to draw you close to his heart?@ Would you say, AYes, I believe that you, Jesus are the savior, the Son of God and that you are my salvation.@ What would Jesus say in response? He would probably say: AAvoid all the illusions and false promises of Satan.@ We have problems in our culture and even in our faith. Some people don=t believe that Satan exists. The fact is we all know that the church has always taught that Satan is a fallen angel and he hates us. It=s absolutely demanding on our part that we really avoid the illusions of his false promises.Then Jesus would ask us the third question:
ADo you really want to receive the gifts I offer you and to let you live in the Spirit?@ The answer to this one means your salvation so it=s a very important one to reflect on. Here too we have difficulty because we don=t really realize what this means. Right now God is absolutely enraptured. The Three Persons are enjoying their stay with each other and communion with each and it=s totally fulfilled.It
=s that life that the Lord is offering us when he says, ALive in the Spirit!@ If we say Ayes@ to him then the Lord=s going to say: ATake up your cross daily and follow me.@ That is, be willing to suffer to be faithful to me. This is extremely counter-cultural because we don=t want anything that causes us pain, even if it=s worth the gain.These three questions are a reality check because what
=s the real block for the flow of the spiritual life in our effort of monastic life? It=s our priorities. We don=t check our priorities enough to see if we really want to put God first. Do we really want to do his will and please him?