what does God want?

Sometimes, especially on a Sunday like this, you will find yourself grasping for answers to questions like, why do I have to go to church, I can pray anywhere I like, after all God is everywhere, isn’t he? Now how do you answer that? Or try answering questions like this, why do I have to attend mass and receive holy communion? I can very well commune with God in the beach, or in a quiet place by myself? Why do I have to go to church? Again, how do we answer that?
Or try these questions you often hear nowadays, Why do I have to go to a priest and confess my sins in order to receive God’s forgiveness? Why can’t I go to Jesus directly? Why does a priest stand between God and me? Isn’t the Church sticking its nose into my private, personal relationship with God? Now how do we answer these questions?
The problem with these questions is about their direction. All of these questions basically asks, what do we want to do in order to get to God. What do we want to do in order that we can be saved? What do we want to believe as the truth? What do we want to do in order that we can be called Christians and Catholics? If you notice the questions are directed to us - what do we want to do, what do we want to believe. It does not ask the most important question, what does God want?


Sometimes when you read newspapers nowadays one can find too much presumption on many catholics nowadays, a presumption for example that we human beings determine the means whereby we can reach God. We presume that the Catholic Church is just a group of people who chose what to believe and put into a vote how we would act morally. There is too much presumption going around that since the majority thinks that this is good then it must be good. Sometimes some would even back up their argument by saying, look at the survey. These presumptions merely show how far we have become ignorant in our understanding of the Church, how far we have become ignorant of our faith, its teachings and its morality.
And so let us look at our readings today. Hopefully these will clarify things to some extent.
In our first reading today God said to Shebnah, I will depose you. And in your place I will summon Eliakim and I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David - when he shuts, no one can open, when he opens, no one can shut.
This event in times past in the history of Israel is re-echoed in the call of Peter when Jesus told him, you are Peter the rock, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The key represents authority. The person to whom the key is given, the person who holds the key is the person to whom authority has been given. The key is given to Peter. He is given the authority, an authority that comes from God and from no one else. From this authority and on this authority which comes from God and from no one else, the church was built.
So it is not what we want that determines morality. It is not we want that determines the truth. It is not what survey says that makes a thing right or wrong. It is God, it is what God wants as expressed by the one who holds the key.
What does God want? This is a very important question if you want to reach out to God. Remember Saul, the first king of Israel? He did good but he did the good that he wanted, not the good that God wants. For this he was stripped of his kingship which God passed on to David.
It would have been fine if the good is measured by what we want. I would have stayed in my room and slept a bit longer rather than celebrate mass here with you. I would have said to myself, Lord you are everywhere, you can stay here in bed with me. And to think that some of you here would feel burdened when all you do is come here, while I do the talking and do all the preparing. If only the good is measured by what I want.
Come to think of it, I would have supported the RH bill knowing that it would reduce the population and I would have more time for myself instead of dividing my time to so many. It would have been good if we just confess our sins directly to the Lord so that I would not spend so much time listening to your sins and dispensing advices here and there. Do you think you alone like that arrangement? I would have loved it more if it comes to that. In fact I would have written to PCSO telling them that I have repairs here and there, I have to pay so many workers, I have to feed so many mouths. I would have wanted that. But the question is, does God want me to do that?
The church is not a question of what I want but a question of what does God want? To do that we have to look up to those who hold the key.