Many years ago I went to a conference held in Liverpool. It was led by Frances Hogan whose love for Scripture has always inspired me and encouraged me to go deeper into the Word of God. At one point during the conference Frances looked around the room at the eighty or so people who were there and said ‘How many of you really trust God?’ I would say 80% of the hands in the room went up and Frances nodded and began talking again for maybe another ten minutes. Eventually she asked another question. ‘How many of you are worried about your children and their futures?’ Again about 80% of the hands went up and Frances started to smile ‘you really trust God and yet you’re worried about the world. Why would you worry if you really trust God?”

What are your false gods?

That’s a very challenging question to reflect on because it invites us, as the Gospel so often does, if we’re really listening, to strip away our masks. It demands that we face the truth that very few of us really trust God when the chips are down. For most of us our gods are worry, fear, anxiety and pain. For some of us our gods are money and possessions. For others our good name or our places in society are the realities we worship. These are the things that fill our hearts and minds when the masks we wear are taken away or when the games we play no longer meet our needs and we’re left alone with our true selves. These are our gods.

The call to faith and belief

One of the major themes in Luke’s gospel is that of faith and belief. Luke constantly calls us to a radical life-changing belief in God, a faith that invites us to let go of the false gods we worship, that lie deep within us all, and which dominate the way we think and act. Luke calls us to surrender to God and to know that without God we are nothing. I think that’s what conversion is all about. It has little to do with moving from one set of cerebral beliefs to another. Conversion is that deep movement within, the letting go of that which is deceptive but so alluring because it makes us feel so good, to a place of surrender to God, where somehow we know that God is enough. This is something we’re all called to every day. Luke gives us stories to illustrate that deep surrender that we’re called to. He tells the story of Zechariah, challenged to give up what he holds most dear and trust that God’s way is the only way. He tells us of Mary the supreme example of surrender and trust. He tells of Peter and James and John who gave up everything and followed. He gives us the story of the rich young man and Zaccheus who are both challenged to trust God more than anything. Luke challenges us that if we are really on that journey of conversion to let go of anything that would stop us trusting in and yielding to the presence of God. Are we prepared to admit that our hearts are compromised and that we try to fulfil ourselves with so much that is not God centred and not Gospel?

What is your focus?

If you think that you are surrendering to God, really learning to trust God then ask yourself what you do with your possessions. The focus of your time and money will often tell you where your heart is and will tell you who your god is and what you think is important in life. Luke’s challenge is to rid ourselves of anything that keeps us from living in that free place where God and God alone is our life.

This radical deep conversion that we are called to will free us to live in the present moment. It will enable us to choose life and to live life. It’s an incredible gift! Catherine of Sienna was very wise when she said “It’s heaven all the way to heaven and it’s hell all the way to hell.” Because surrendering to God is to live in heaven here and now and to live with other things clouding your heart and mind is to live in hell here and now.

The call of the Scriptures is not a comfortable one because it invites us to allow the word of God to strike at the very root of our being. It’s a call to conversion and to let go of our preoccupations so that we can live in that spacious sacred place where in fact God is our fulfilment. It’s a call to live life to the full. Please God we have the courage to hear the call and respond to it.

Fr Chris Thomas heads up the Irenaeus Project. He is a member of the Emmaus Family of Prayer and a priest of the Liverpool Diocese.