What do we give up in order to save some room for the kingdom of God to work through us?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Save some room.
We all know what that means when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner:
1) Don’t eat too many snacks during the day — save some room for dinner.
2) Don’t eat too much dinner — save some room for dessert.
This same natural principle is applied to the spiritual life when it comes to the Eucharist: We observe a simple, one-hour fast before receiving Communion. The point there is not so much that we’re saving physical space (though that’s also true); it’s more that we’re creating some spiritual space.
The natural point and the sacramental point converge on a lesson that can serve our spiritual life as well.
The first readings for this last week of Ordinary Time come from the Book of Daniel. Even the “Psalms” this week aren’t actually Psalms; they’re portions of the hymn from Daniel 3. And there’s a small detail in the book that provides a window into what this “saving some room” could look like in the spiritual life.
When Daniel was taken to exile in Babylon, to be trained for service in the king’s court, his days were filled with study and his food and wine were provided from the king’s table. But for Daniel, as a faithful Jew, that food and wine were unclean. So Daniel made a gambit: He asked to be fed only vegetables and water, so he could remain faithful to God’s covenant.
What happened next? He and the three companions who observed the dietary discipline with him did so well in their studies that when they were tested, “In any questions of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.”
Daniel could have filled his plate and belly from the king’s table. Instead, he saved some room for fidelity to God’s law, and the discipline of “saving some room” bore very good fruit.
We’re familiar with the physical and sacramental versions of that truth. But Daniel shows us that there are mental and spiritual versions of it as well. So my question is this: What do we give up, in our daily lives — like Daniel — in order to save some room for the kingdom of God to work through us?
I don’t intend to tell anyone else what they need to give up! That’s a discernment for each of us. But let me give some ideas just to get the creative juices flowing: alcohol, television news, YouTube videos, cynical talk about others, negative self-talk. What else comes to mind?
And here are some fruits to watch for, to see if that discipline of “saving some room” is helping the kingdom to be more present in you and through you: Do I become more attentive to others when I give it up and more distracted when I use it? Do I become more generous when I give it up and more self-centered when I use it? Do I become deeper and wiser when I give it up and more superficial when I use it?
Our daily experience teaches us that it’s important to “save some room.” Our sacramental discipline concerning the Eucharist makes the same point. Somewhere in between the physical and the sacramental points is a lesson about the spiritual life. The prophet Daniel “saved some room” for fidelity to God’s law, and it bore good fruit. Maybe we can take a page from his book.
Happy Thanksgiving!
