Trees and Divine Things

Gospel: John 16: 16-20

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a noise?  We have all pondered this question at one point or another in our lives.  One group of philosophers will contend that noise cannot take place unless there is one able to perceive the sound, while the other camp will argue that noise is not dependent on a perceiver as it will exist whether it is sensed or not.  

In today's Gospel Jesus talks about being present and then not being present to his disciples, and we can identify with this in our prayer lives.  There are times when we feel so close to God in prayer that we cannot possibly doubt God's presence ever.  But there are also stretches wherein we do not at all feel God present at all and we feel abandoned and utterly at sea.  

We experience both of these movements within us to remind us of the fact that God's presence does not depend on our perception or feeling at all.  God is present whether we have these feelings of intimacy or not.  Once we become conscious of this truth we then come to realize that neither God nor the world is dependent upon or revolves around us.  We come to an awareness and appreciation of our place in the cosmos, we are oriented aright, and we can move forward confident in God's presence ever among us and our place in the cosmos.