Life is Messy

This was the topic of a visiting priests homily this past Sunday at church and the three simple words keep popping up in my head. "Life is messy." It's so true, yet sad at the same time. Our lives are so messy; they are cluttered with technology, sticky situations, friends who might tempt us and so on. Everyday we get up and go through our routine just to happen upon new situations that throw us of balance and shake our faith. Life is messy.

The priest went on to talk about the gospel reading which was Exodus 3, where God comes to Moses through the burning bush. Now Moses fled from Egypt when he killed an Egyptian who was whipping a Hebrew. He began a new life in Midian with a wife and children and became a shepherd  He seemed to have completely started a new life and was happy. That is when God came to Moses through the burning bush and told him to return to Egypt to free His people (the Israelites) from slavery. I can only imagine Moses' reaction, "You want me to do what?" Even with his lisp, God chose Moses to complete this act. God pushed Moses out of his comfort zone, quite literally, and made Moses rely on Him for comfort and protection.

This is an amazing example and reminder that we must rely on God in all that we do, not just in trying circumstances. God pushes us out of our comfort zone, where life can get even messier, so that we can lean on Him, rebuild our trust in Him and recognize His plan for our lives.

The priest went on to ask us about the messes in our own individual lives. What is going on right now that just seems too overwhelming? It's the situations that you want to run and hide from that make life messy. Well, each of us knows of a man that had an incredibly messy life: Jesus. Jesus was put to the test everywhere he went. He was tempted by the devil, betrayed by his friends, denied by one of his closest friends and hung upon a cross for a crime that he didn't commit. What is messier than that?

Through the resurrection, Jesus gave each one of us the ability to clean up our lives: through belief and faith in the Lord. This alone is how our lives can be managed; not through our own wants and desires, but through our complete submission to God's will. Once we do this, the messes that seemed to clutter our lives get packed up in nice, neat little boxes. They are still there inside those boxes, but we are better able to see and understand them with the help of God.