The one-liner above was thought provoking. I had to complete it. The first thought that flashed my mind was ‘taught me the value of your presence’. A deeper reflection on these words was a mirror reflection wherein I saw my naked, vulnerable self. This could also be the experience of the readers reading this moment.
What happens when we are caught up with absence of persons or things and even accessories for that matter, like the modern gadgets and the modern props? Moreover the vacuum felt of the absence of a dearly beloved one. The absence of the objects, things and persons, make us understand their or its value.
The Season of Lent is a time to look into the absences in our lives which we have not taken seriously, which we have ignored and demeaned the authenticity or its credentials. Few days back I read somewhere, ‘because of those who have not voted and remained at home, their absence was someone else’s gain and a loss of those who counted on their votes’. So the words absence and presence have a lot to teach us.
The absence of God in our life makes our life futile. Life without grace is like ‘make hay while the sun shines’, though ‘everything that glitters is not gold’! The absence of right ethics, ideals, values and principles affect the foundation in our life. Because whatever we accept, dictate the choices we make in our lives. Absence of values in children is a problem faced in the school, colleges and moreover in the families who nowadays don’t listen.
Family is the first church, the temple, a mosque, or gurudwara, a place of worship where children pick up the core values, ideals, ethics, etc. Yes, values are not taught but they are caught or picked up by the child from their elders and siblings, from the society in which they live. So if there is absence of these above traits, what we get is the ‘use and throw away culture’ that which will have any neither impact nor bear good fruits.
Ex. 33: 14, says ‘my presence will go before you and I will give you rest’, this assurance of God makes it clear that He is always with us. We only need to attune our ears to His footsteps walking ahead of us being aware of his presence.
Many people have learnt to shoulder responsibilities in the absence of… or due to sudden death, etc, have to live/stay alone. But the absence of God in our life results in the saying, ‘fish out of water’, and a soul gasping for breath! A life at cross roads, bad way – to give up and hard way, – to challenge!
So is Season of Lent. Being at crossroads, to make or take hard decisions and act before you do. Like Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector who decided to see Jesus and took up the challenge, to fulfill his dream by climbing the sycamore tree
To seek the presence of God is to shun evil. The presence of God allows us to appreciate and value others, creation and the goodness of persons while living together as a family, participating in each other’s joy and sorrows being in communion, to foster the mission of Christ and replace absence with presence, being present to God, self, and others.
