The Leafless Tree

Practicing the presence of God in the pandemic

03/12/2021

Mark 12:28-34 One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

If you are looking for a powerful spiritual book to read for the rest of Lent, I highly recommend a small book by Brother Lawrence called The Practice of the Presence of God. Have you heard of this spiritual classic? It is a good book to read not only for the rest of Lent, but for the rest of your life. Brother Lawrence lived in the 17th century (he died in 1691) and was a Carmelite friar in Paris. But before he entered the Carmelite monastery, he served in the French army.

One day he had a profound experience on the battlefield that changed his life. He saw a leafless tree in the middle of the battlefield. As he contemplated and gazed at the tree, he began to realize that the tree would be in full flower and bloom in a few months. It suddenly occurred to him that the tree was a symbol of God’s ability to transform the human heart.

That reminds me of one of my favorite passages from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, who also wrote in the aftermath of war: the Assyrian Invasion in 605 BC. We read: “For though the fig tree does not blossom and no fruit appear on the vine; though the terraces produce no nourishment; though the flocks disappear from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord and exult in my saving God” (Hab. 3:17-18).

In other words, both Brother Lawrence and the Prophet Habakkuk could sense the presence of God when all they could see was the absence of God. That is the point of the book The Practice of the Presence of God: to see and sense God’s loving presence at all times: when we are happy or sad, when we are rich or poor, when we are in the midst of friends on fighting our foes; when everything in turning up roses or when everything lies in ruins. When God is present, we find peace.

In the gospel today, a scribe asks Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments? And remember in Jewish tradition there were 613 ceremonial laws that had to be observed to the letter. So the scribe is not asking which of the Ten Commandments is the greatest; the question is more complicated. Jesus replies: “This is the first: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Why does Jesus insist we must love the Lord with heart, soul, mind and strength? Because we must love him even when he seems to be absent and far from us; indeed, even when God seems to be punishing us. In other words, one of the best ways to fulfill the first commandment is to practice the presence of God like Brother Lawrence and Habakkuk taught. How can we love God if we do not think He is present, and even closer to us than we are to ourselves as St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions (Bk. 3, Ch. 6)?

Folks, here are a couple of ways we can “practice the presence of God” today. In this respect the pandemic has been a two-edged sword. Some people have keenly felt the absence of God because they have been stuck at home, like my parents. But that absence has made their hearts grow fonder and they are flocking back to church and to Mass. We are actually having overcrowding at Sunday Mass! That is a very wonderful problem to have. The absence of the Eucharist is driving people to seek the Real Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion. That is one way the pandemic cuts.

But I am concerned it cuts the in other direction as well. How so? Some people have grown accustomed to God’s absence, that is, they are settling for TV Masses in their pajamas with their mimosas in their hands. That is why the book by Brother Lawrence would be so useful today as we try to pivot from this pandemic and try to practice the presence of God, rather than get used to the absence of God.

As we begin to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, we should ask ourselves what lessons we have learned. This pandemic, like everything else that exists in creation, is designed to help us love God with all our hearts, with all our strength, with all our minds, and with all our souls. That is what Brother Lawrence saw when he gazed on that leafless tree on the German battlefield.

Praised be Jesus Christ!