A funny thing happened to me in a most recent spiritual direction session.  I began by discussing my prayer time with the director, and before I knew it, I started sharing truths about myself that seemed revealing even to me.  This experience gave me a sense of what Paul was talking about in his letter to the Romans; nothing is hidden from God.  On occasion we may want our actions or words to be overlooked, but the fact remains, when we encounter God, our hearts and the truth are laid bare.  This may sound like a vulnerable position, but freedom comes when we allow ourselves to be totally open and truthful to our loving God.  The freedom comes because we have a forgiving God who is not quick to anger or removed from our experience, rather we have a God who can relate and wants to be at the center of our human experience.  We see this in the person of Jesus.

In Jesus, we see a person of God who desperately wanted the human experience.  No longer could humans say, "God, you don't understand, you are removed from us."  No, we must admit that God has reached out to each one of us, not in grandeur but in weakness, caring for the needs of sinners.  I find great comfort in the passage from Mark's gospel because if I were living at Jesus' time, he would probably come to my house; the house of a sinner, of a weak person, of one who makes mistakes.  I relish the thought of Jesus coming to my house, not to brag that this man of God visited my place, but for the experience of being physically close to the Man-God.  I'm sure his words would pierce my life with God's truth exposing my heart to the God who loves.

Maybe that was my experience in spiritual direction.  What I take away from today's readings is the fact that we do have a God who knows us, who can relate to our humanity, who wants us to live in truth, and even desires to be at the center of our very imperfect lives.  What else could we want from God?