What does Christ want from us?

What does Christ want from us?

As we grow in our spiritual adherence to the obligations expected from us to God, the Church, and our salvation, each day can become more questionable.  Preparing for holy communion we needed to learn different prayers and definitely remember the rules of fasting.  The prayers were not too hard to memorize, but the rules of what we could consume before receiving the Eucharist and how many hours we needed to fast was a little more of an encumbrance from refraining from food the night before and not even swallowing water after tooth brushing in the morning of the sacrament.  

We grew up learning early on the conditions required within the Church before holy communion and later on the Sacrament of Confession.   That of course created difficulties depending on the period of history we were in as to confession before communion or the sequence with confession later as rules regulated the need for 7 year olds to confess at that early age.  One of our priests at my home parish remarked on the requirement for communicants to receive confession first mentioned one young boy said in his confession; “Bless me father, I committed adultery twice.”  His tireless effort to change that requirement went on deaf ears.  

We all understand the need in many cases, to follow some guidance when performing or partaking of a sacrament.  Without a regulated manner of order there could be anarchy at least in an orderly fashion.  

Now the consensus of pleasing God by the way that will satisfy him can confuse the average person as to what will offend him by an absence of not enough gifts or prayers may bring down punishment due to neglecting our offerings or oblations needed to satisfy his expectations of filling the coffers in church.  

How many false gods throughout history displayed the obligation to appease their gods by sacrificing their young children in fire or other types of destroying life for blessings from their images of idols that could not speak or breathe.  

Somehow, these signs of worship have filtered down to modern day images with the idea that to please the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, from where our current worship of Jesus Christ has arisen from is what Christian worship is all about.  Somewhere, we believed that being close to Christ and his Church, which is us, needs a little more by any sacrifice we can anti-up is what he is looking for.  Now I am not suggesting to forget about tything at the offering.  It goes a little deeper than sharing in the upkeep of the clergy and the buildings we worship with and in.  

“Hear the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom!  Listen to the instructions of our God, people of Gomorrah!  What care I for the number of your sacrifices? Says the Lord.  I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings;  In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure.”  “Your hands are full of blood!  Wash yourselves clean!  Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do dood.  Make justice your aim; redress the wronged , hear the orphan’s pleas, defend the widow.”  (Is. 1: 10 - 11, 15b - 17).  

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in.  Then I said, as it is written of me in the scroll, ``Behold I come to do your will, O God.”  (Heb. 10: 4 - 10).   (compare with Ps. 40: 7 - 8).

“For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.”  

(Hos 6: 6).

Sacrifice and oblation I do not want; Love and forgiveness pleases the heart of Christ!

Ralph B. Hathaway