Suffering and Faith

  "Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known." Mt 12:15

Often in the Gospels Jesus warns his disciples not to speak about his mighty powers and miracles. Fearing that people will be drawn to him for the wrong reasons, Jesus wants his followers to announce God's love for them whether they are healed or not. His message is not about power but poverty. Even those with nothing will know the glory of God because God loves each and all of us without distinction. God's love is unconditional. We have only to respond.

When people hear this message, it often falls on deaf ears. If God loves us so much, why do we suffer? Why isn't life sweet and simple for all? That God promises to accompany us through every trial is little consolation for many. Is this true for you, us? Do we want a life free of stress and struggle? 

Today, acknowledge that life is a journey through light and dark and pray for the grace to accept and embrace life as it unfolds not as we dream about it.

Who helped you realize that the struggles in life mold your character and form you in compassion?

Letting Go of Security

 "On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household...This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight." Ex 12: 3, 11

Most of us, like the Israelites of old, are not really sure we want to be set free. Although the Lord leads his chosen people out of Egypt and promises to accompany them to the Promised Land, they, like all of us, must  first go through the desert.

Being in flight or on the road is never easy. We don't have a place or a bed to call our own. The smells and sights of waking up are different every day, and the people we meet along the way are not our friends. Lacking the familiar, we get testy and easily annoyed, and sometimes yearn for the past with all its problems.

Traveling light, not by choice but necessity, our faults and the idiosyncrasies of our family and fellow pilgrims are much more obvious and annoying. Still, we must go forward. The Promised Land beckons us, and as long as we keep it in mind, it is much richer than what we left behind.

Today, let go of  one thing to which you are clinging.

Do your memories of God's intervention in your life hold you down or set you free?

Take my Yoke

 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of hear." Mt 11:29

Thinking of Jesus as meek is counter intuitive. Because the Lord never seems afraid of the leaders of his day, we don't think of him as submissive to anyone or anything except his Father. At the same time, obedience and the submissiveness it implies is the key to the Gospel. Acknowledging and accepting our total dependence on God frees us not to worry or fret about success, but to trust that God will have God's way in the world.

When Jesus encourages us to take the yoke of his obedience upon our shoulders, he is assuring us that we will never be alone. Like a pair of oxen, Jesus and each of us, will work together to bear the weight of every burden and pull the wagon of God's message to the world. Moreover, it should be no surprise that Jesus sent his disciples "two by two" to announce the Good News. Knowing how difficult it would be to stand out, sometimes in opposition to Jewish leaders, Jesus wanted his disciples to support one another by living simply and not worrying about results.

Today, help someone who seems heavy burdened to accept their yoke.

When have you felt most burdened by life, but supported by your faith?

Flaming Bushes

  "An angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush." Ex 3:2

All of us have experienced times and people about whom we feel compelled to speak. When Moses saw a burning bush, approached it and learned that God wanted to speak to him, he had to tell other about his experience. Elijah hears God, not in a strong wind or an earthquake, but in a tiny whisper, and realizes in the middle of his fear, that God is calling him. He cannot resist. Again, when Isaiah, hearing God wonder who to send, responds: Here I am, send me!

The great figures of the Hebrew bible announce God's presence and love whenever they encounter it, and so does Jesus. Not only does the Lord speak of God, he is God's Word enfleshed, the one about whom we cannot be silent, and this is the essence of the 4th chapter of Acts of the Apostles. Peter and John become models for all the apostles and disciples. No longer does it matter that they abandoned Jesus in his greatest need. Forgiven and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they become, despite great personal danger, proclaimers of the Word.

Today, let your joy speak to others of God's presence within you and among us.

What experiences of God have you had about which you cannot be silent?