Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Written by Scarlett Rose Ford
I had big hopes for my first grad school party: I brought Jenga and prosecco, expecting to hit the town after with new friends. Yet the night ended early with people lounging in circles discussing existentialist theology, agreeing that they may never fulfill their life’s purpose because said purpose may not even exist. I had to hold myself back from screaming, “Jesus is the path to finding your purpose, all you have to do is ask Him!!!”
Instead of going full Jesus-freak mode on my new classmates, I defaulted to quoting Henri Nouwen, former Harvard professor and Catholic writer, who referred to theology as “raising questions from the divine perspective.” This is exactly what we are doing when we read today’s psalm: Teach me your ways, O Lord. These words are the cheat code for pretty much everything; all we have to do is ask God, and He will give us the answers we seek in His time, according to His will. The psalm continues:
He guides the humble to justice and teaches the humble his way.
To learn the Lord’s ways, we must have humility. Especially when having theological discussions in academia, it feels like a competition of who is the most well-read on philosophy and therefore the most intelligent; there is little humility. This is part of the reason why Henri Nouwen left Harvard to live out his vocation as a priest. His friend and fellow priest, Thomas Merton, wrote a prayer that I have been reciting daily to grow in humility and trust in the Lord:
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” — Thoughts In Solitude, “The Merton Prayer”
God is not a thing which we can over-intellectualize. God is a good Father, and our faith in Him is something to be approached with humility and trust in His goodness. He is waiting to guide us; all we have to do is ask Him in confidence: Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Scarlett Rose Ford is a current Master of Theological Studies degree candidate at Harvard University. She works as a news correspondent for Harvard Divinity School and is a contributing writer for Aleteia. Her updated publications/work can be found on Linkedin.
Pray with today’s psalm.