Thursday in the First Week of Lent

When Thoreau was told late in life it was time for him to make peace with the Lord. Thoreau responded, " I did not know we had ever quarreled."

Have you ever quarreled with God? There are several books out about Jacob wrestling with God. We ask at times, “Why is this happening to me.” Why is there so much suffering in the world? These are not questions to which we have answers, despite the story of Job. Yet we still ask and think an answer may be forthcoming. Yet is it a quarrel?

I think not. Much like children we ask our parent, “Why?” Our parent responds, “What do you think?” We walk away frustrated but thinking.

No one has satisfactorily answered the ultimate question in my mind, but perhaps that is because it is not meant to be answered. What I do know and believe is that by engaging in this conversation with God it means I believe there is an answer. More importantly, I am asking the one person who knows the answer.

During Lent we engage through meditation, prayer, and fasting in a dialogue with God. It is not a quarrel. It is an act of ultimate respect and love.