Ah, the thrill of the chase! There's nothing quite like it, is there? We are born to pursue things in this life. To honor that inclination is a good thing. And to recognize how this tendency toward hot pursuit sometimes leads to frustration is a wise thing.
One Friday not too long ago, 35 middle school kids from Temple Beth Ahabah came up to Richmond Hill for a retreat weekend for their Confirmation class. Their energy and enthusiasm was inspiring. If there is such a thing as reincarnation (does God grant us spiritual Mulligans?), my wish might be to come back Jewish. I love how connected some Jews seem to be to life, to love, to each other.
For a long time I envied my Jewish friends for their seemingly effortless ease in playing games of worldly success. Were they smarter than me? More savvy? Somewhere along the line, a Jewish friend explained how his theology allowed for the love of God, but that love is all here now. For him, there was no afterlife. This is all there is. This is it. You get this one chance — you best make the most of it.
What? No after-life? The thought of an eternity with nothing going on was too much for me to handle.
Christians do believe in life hereafter, and that belief in Eternal Life shapes our choices. Choices in this world may have ramifications in the next. We live torn between realms, as if we're chasing two rabbits. I saw how liberating my friend's theology was — how it simplified things. His field of focus was limited to here and now. What elegant simplicity.
When it comes to decision-making, I often struggle. How does one decide between a good thing, the right thing, and, the best thing to do? Deep down, I want to do the right thing, the best thing, the thing that God wants me to do. Or, that God needs me to do. How does one figure out which is which?
In the RUAH School of Spiritual Guidance, we devote a whole study section to discernment. (Ignatius of Loyola spent the second half of his life studying how to discern; we spent a weekend — it’s not much, but it's a start). We are not robots, programmed to execute God's will. We are not God's puppets, responding to the tug of a string in our soul. God endowed us with our own free will. And God is curious to see what we come up with. Seeking God's will is not a test, it is a dance.
We come to know and do the will of God through active engagement in a process of desiring, discerning, and choosing. George Herbert said it well, “Enrich, Lord, heart, hands, mouth in me — with faith, with hope and charity, that I may run, rise, rest in Thee.”
Pursue the prey. And pray the pursuit. Ah, the thrill of the chase! There's nothing quite like it, is there?
Each Spring, the Garden at Richmond Hill is amazing.