Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

“Living is what we do with God's time, what we do with God's world.” That line is typical of the the eloquent Jewish rabbi, Abraham Heschel, now deceased. How far from our tendency to think that living is something entirely up to us, entirely, as we say, “my own business.” We so quickly get used to living, taking it for granted.

The hallmark of Rabbi Heschel's thought was this constant recognition of life as a gift and not our own creation. This extended for him to all that makes up what we call life and living: not simply what we do, but what we have and are. Another typical phrase of his was: “What we own, we owe.”

The Gospel puts this in terms of stewardship; we have been placed in charge of what belongs to Another. This other, God, loves us and trusts us to use these gifts well, with all our ability. Science and technology are especially clear examples of what we can do with these gifts, of how much potential they have for good – and, of course, for evil.

But more individually, each of us has a set of gifts present in everything from chromosomes to cranium. The Gospel and Rabbi Heschel, reflecting the Jewish tradition, remind us to appreciate the gifts and to use them well, with at least the imagination and preparation we put into golf or managing our finances. “Living is what we do with God's time,  what we do with God's world.”

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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