Indulgence

You won’t find this day on the Liturgical calendar, although some of us treat it like a holy experience. Today is National Dessert Day. I looked it up: “a day dedicated to enjoying various sweet treats like cakes, cookies, pies, and ice cream (all at the same time: my editorial addition). While the exact origins are unknown, this unofficial holiday is a popular occasion for people to indulge in their favorite desserts.” Indulge! Isn’t that a wonderful word? And many of us are very good at it. I can be very indulgent toward an apple pie or chocolate brownies. I know people who even indulge God.

That’s right. They “yield to” God. When it’s convenient, necessary, or advantageous, they remember that you and I didn’t create reality…God did. That nothing we do causes the sun to rise and set…it’s what God did. That we do not cause the flowering of the rose bush or the twinkle of the star…God. Indulging God is like tipping one’s hat to the Creator as we rush by in efforts to run life the way we want it. Wouldn’t it be ironic if it all worked the other way: God indulges us. Pays casual attention only when necessary? But I can make a pretty good argument that the intensity and consistency of God’s loving presence is demonstrated, not by indulgence but by incarnation. The one whom we call The Christ was not and is not an act of indulgence. He was and is an act of intense love. So I leave you with this reality to think about today…to meditate on, to ponder about, and to respond to:

God is not an apple pie.