Homily Oct. 12, 2010, 11:15 AM, Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University
Christoffer H. Grundmann
Today’s scripture reading has been chosen in light of the topic assigned from the spiritual companion
manual to this term On our Way: Christian practices for living a whole life. The topic is “Becoming
aware.” (pp. 44-46) I am reading Hebrews 3:7-15:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing
in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for
forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They always go astray in their
hearts, and they have not known my ways. As in in my anger I swore, ‘They will not enter my
rest.’”
Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns
away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that
none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partners of Christ,
if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do
not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (NRSV)
Most of what we have just heard is a rephrasing of an ancient text, namely Psalm 95. It is here referred
to again, because the topic is so important – but often simply is not recognized as such. Again and again
people have to be reminded of paying due attention that all their life happens in the presence of the
living God; people, that is us, we have to become aware of God’s presence, “Take care, that none of you
may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”
Let us become aware that God is around us all the time everywhere, not as a watchdog, but as the one
who cares for us. God certainly does not pamper us; but God does sustain us. And God, indeed, does
this, in as simple a way as making us listen to His word here this morning, “Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
Well, while we might not harden our hearts we much too often have our ears plugged in and our eyes
fixed on an electronic gadget of sorts. “You need to stay connected!” is the mantra of our time, isn’t it?
The flip-side of this is that we are hardly ever present where we actually are at the moment, that we
hardly ever sense the immediate world around us: the smell of autumn, the colors of the sky, the sounds
of the birds, and—as important—the people actually around us!
I am not talking nature’s romantic here. I am talking “becoming aware” of where we are, of what we are
doing, and of why and with whom we are doing it. This certainly challenges the mantra of “staying
connected.” To be present might require shutting down iPods and cellphones. To be present requires
switching off background music and video screens flooding our senses with a host of unnecessary
stimuli. Doing so trains our eyes to really see and our ears to really hear—making us not only becoming
listening and hearing people, but people who really stay connected to life, to the source of all life, to
God.
That is why we break the routine of college day every morning, go to Chapel where space is provided
and time structured in such a way that people, that we may become aware of God as revealed in Christ
as the source of life.
Every prayer is a reminder to us here in the Chapel of the Resurrection to become aware who and what
we are as human beings – and what we ought to do, namely: to be really present wherever we are and
not to desert from the here and now of God’s calling, for otherwise we will miss life, certainly.
Therefore: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts!” Become aware that we live all the
time and everywhere in the presence of the Risen Christ. Become aware of this!
Amen