By Fr. Glenn Jones:
We finally come to the summer solstice and begin the season. It’s funny to watch some of the videos of European soccer (excuse me; “football”) fans during the World Cup tournaments find out how hot it gets over here across the pond. In any event, we may be in for a hot one. But … who knows?
Well, one who does know is the one who knows all. In the Catholic Mass Gospel today we hear Jesus assure us:“…not one [sparrow] falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” (Matthew 10:29-30)
The omniscience of God—that He is all-knowing—is something that is often a stumbling block both to believers and potential believers, but His omniscience is a constant theme throughout all of scriptures. We read: “…the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every plan and thought.” (1Chronicles 28:9) And as Jesus says elsewhere in our Gospel today: “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” (Luke 8:17)
One wonders if that does not cancel out the concept of free will, and whether our actions are already predetermined, like a programmed robot? And how can any being possibly know every thought of billions of people…hear every prayer, know every deed that we do? If that doesn’t blow your mind enough, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that not only does God know every deed that we do and will do, but He knows everything it was possible for us to do!
But our free will is not canceled; indeed, free will is required for us to follow God by our own volition. After all, free will is required for us to truly love—to love God or any person.
Yes, God knows our whole life’s history already…but we don’t—and so we choose to act within or outside the will of God with every action that we do—every action or inaction in accord with the good…or not. This gets into the ideas of predestination and pre-determinism. We are predestined in the sense that God knows our ultimate fate—Heaven or Hell—but we are not predetermined … not programed without free choice or free will. We might us an analogy of traveling a trail learning the way, but God is on the mountain and sees the whole of the path.
Yet, He never withholds from us sufficient grace to not do evil; it is our free decision to cooperate with His grace…or not. He gives us ample instruction through scripture and through the Holy Spirit’s guidance. And even our inner call to be charitable comes from God. Individual merit is in the measure by which we cooperate with God’s grace in what we do when charitable and devotional opportunities are before us.
God reveal to us that He is infinite and omniscient—confirmed by Jesus in His life, teaching and works—but we nonetheless try to squeeze Him into human limitations. Thus the scoffing at the thought He can know every thought, every deed, every prayer, every hair on our heads. We unconsciously think: “Even the smartest human could not approach that, so how can God?” Or, even more arrogantly: “I couldn’t know that; how can God?”
But God is in no way subject to human limits in His intellect and understanding. As Creator of all, every particle of creation is—and must be—a stroke of His artist’s brush, else it would not exist. As the saying goes: “If at some time there was absolute nothing, where did anything come from? How did anything at all come to exist?”
In order to put some limitations on God, many modern people try to see God as a type of watchmaker, building the watch and setting it in motion to run on its own. But the error in this is assuming God as part of the universe rather than existing above. Presuming He’s part of the machine rather than source, designer and builder.
So how does this affect us in our day-to-day? Simple. Understand Jesus’ comments here as quite literal…that God knows all that we do or not do…say or not say…and act in our lives accordingly. As we read in the book of Sirach: “Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.” But it continues: “For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything; his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man. He has not commanded any one to be ungodly…” (Sirach 15:17-20)
God knows all that we do…and so, let us do well! A line from the series John Adams I rewatched recently struck me when Abigail Adams told her departing son: “Be good, and DO good.”
Let us learn from Jesus when He says: “Fear no one!”…for no one can harm the soul of anyone who refuses to allow his soul to be harmed…or rather, to harm his own soul.
Yes, Christians in the world will always have times when we feel like Jeremiah in our first Mass reading for today (Jeremiah 20:10-13): “I hear the whisperings of many…All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine… O LORD … you test the just, who probe mind and heart,” And that is why we must always keep before us the knowledge of God’s love, and as Jeremiah also says: “But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion…”
And so we go forth with courage…to be steadfast and faithful in remaining with Him whatever we do…for from Him is our salvation. From Him is the eternal good. And from Him is our eternal life.
Finally, lest I forget: Happy Fathers’ Day to all you dads out there! From one who will depart this world childless, know that you are much envied, so cherish your little ones all the days of your life.
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.