This Present Moment

A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 12:54-59, 27 Oct 2023

     I live on a beach for most of the year and walk the beach each morning with my two dogs. I know; life is tough! When my family first bought our house, each morning I would marvel at the beauty of the beach. I didn’t care if the ocean was rough or calm, the winds hard or light, or the visibility misty or sunny. I would just love to deeply breathe in sea air, watch the waves roll ashore one after the other, and with deep contentment thank God for the beauty of the moment and wonder at His creation. I would see Him and His work and just be amazed, grateful, and loved.

     Unfortunately, I often walk the beach now, forgetting the beauty that surrounds me. Certainly, I see everything. However, I don’t perceive anything. I am often caught up in thinking about things I did or did not do, what I have to do, people I need to call, family I need to connect with, and work I need to do. I may even walk past people head down without even a smile or hello. I entirely miss the beauty of the moment, the opportunity to extend God’s grace, and the reminder of God’s love. I allow my thoughts to descend into the weeds instead of their being lifted to heaven. I become all about “interpreting the appearance of the earth”, what is happening in my life, but I am completely absent to God present in the moment. It is not what I want to do, it is how my mind works when my soul is not vigilant.

     St Paul notes this when he writes,

For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:22–25 NABRE)

     We often become so enmeshed in past triumphs or failures, or our future striving after wants, needs, desires, work, ambitions, and pleasure that we forget that God is with us in this present moment and our Salvation is not about what we have done, or even what we may or may not do. Our salvation is fixed to our action in this present moment. St Francis de Sales in his work, “Of the Work of Love,” writes that divine love is either advanced or lost in a moment. This is the importance of every moment. This present moment is of utmost importance for our Salvation.

Jesus tells the crowds in the Gospel today,

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:56 NABRE)

     The Greek for “present time” in Luke 12:56 is arti (ἄρτι). It can also be translated as “now” or “this very moment.” (Liddell Greek-English Lexicon) The Lord is telling us to pay attention to this present moment. It is “right now” that counts. In Exodus 3:14, God tells Moses that His name is, “I am.” God tells us with His name that He is not the “was” or “will be.” He is eternally present in the “right now” and so how we live our faith “right now,” is of the utmost importance. The battle against sin that St Paul describes in the first reading today, is won moment to moment. That is what St Paul means when he tells the Philippians (2:12) to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. That work is done in every second of every minute, of every hour of the day. That is what Jesus is telling us in verse 56 to “interpret”, Greek assay (δόκιμος), to discern.

     Jesus, in the Gospel today, is telling us to pay attention to God present, right now, in our lives. He is calling us to enact love in each moment. There is no time for regret, it does not matter. There is no time to delay, our future on earth is not ours to plan. It is the “right now,” the present time, that really counts. Getting back to the beach, never lose sight of God’s wonderous presence. Set aside your distractions and take the moment to just bask in God’s presence every chance you get.

What, indeed, can we say, but that we which live should not henceforth live unto ourselves, but unto Him Who died for us; that we should dedicate every moment, every desire, every thought and act, every power and impulse of our soul to Him and His Love.
(St Francis de Sales 237)

End notes

Francis de Sales. Of the Love of God. Trans. H. L. Sidney Lear. London: Rivingtons, 1888. Print.

Liddell, Henry George et al. A Greek-English lexicon 1996: 248. Print.

New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.