Enduring Life's Heartaches

 "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." Ps 34:19

It is remarkable how often the scriptures remind us that God draws near to us at the most difficult times of our life. Like a good friend, God often appears when we least expect it and accompanies us through the dark nights of disappointment and illness. At the same time, God does not rescue or fix us. Rather, God stays close but does not invade our lives.

There are few people in the world who have not had their hearts broken more than once. Sometimes it is the loss of a friend or the death of a parent, spouse or child. All of us respond to situations like this, but it is the smaller heartbreaks that we often miss. Not having a child call on our birthday or watching a grandchild drink too much, get sloppy and vulgar are times when we want to turn away and feel sorry for ourselves but God asks more of us. When we are crushed in spirit we are often tempted to speed up and get away from uncomfortable situations, but we need to slow down and let God be with us. 

Today, listen for God's voice however it comes.

How has God protected you when you were full of fear and heartbreak?

Moses and God

   "Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, “Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand?" Ex 32:11

Moses' intimacy with God amazes us. Never afraid to negotiate with God, even and especially when the Jews turn away from God after being freed from the oppression of the Egyptians, Moses keeps reminding God of his promises to never abandon his people. Sure of God's mercy, Moses challenges God to act with compassion even when the Jews build a molten calf and worship it. Remarkably, despite the idolatry of the Jewish people, God listens.

The listening God we encounter in the scripture is anxious for us to repent and renew ourselves, and as Moses demonstrates, seems only too ready to respond when we ask for help. Like the Forgiving Father in the Gospel (Lk 15: 11-32), God rushes out to meet us at the first sign of our guilt and sorrow. More, God cannot do enough for us when we repent. God puts cloaks around our cold shoulders, rings on our broken fingers, and sandals of our battered feet to demonstrate how gratified he is to embrace us and welcome us home.

Intimacy with God will get us everywhere. When, no matter how dark life feels or how disturbed we are by the direction our life has taken, we pray, listen and take time for God, God will hear and respond to us in ways we could never imagine. Lent reminds to pray, fast and give alms. Any of these penances demonstrates our desire for God and will surely get a response.

Today, imagine God rushing out to meet you in the dark.

What have been your experiences of God's enfolding love?

God our Mother

 "But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you." Is 49:15

Sometimes it feels like God has forsaken us, especially when we watch television or the internet only to learn that Russia and Ukraine are still at war. And what must the eople of Gaza  think when ttheir entire  land is rubble. Feeling forsaken is even worse when our children don't call of visit, or when they do visit only to urge us to forsake faith and all its empty promises.

No doubt the Jewish people often thought similar thoughts when they were wandering in the desert without adequate food or water, or when they were in exile in Babylon. That is why prophets like Isaiah are so important.  He reminds all that God, like a mother who cannot forget her infant, is always near even when we feel awful, alone and forgotten. 

Today, listen again to Isaiah and remember that God is like our mother, always concerned for us

Have you ever been like a mother to those most in need? Remember to do that again today.

Flowing Waters

 “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jn 5:7

Flowing waters evoke growth, life and hope in and around us. They remind us that God wants to feed us, desires that we live along the fresh waters of a river so that we can benefit from the fruit and vegetables that will flourish there. Flowing waters also remind us of baptism and God's desire to cleanse us for service to others.

The difficulty faced by the fellow who has been ill for 38 years is clear. His disability doesn't allow him to enter the flowing waters, and he has no one to help him.  That he would still desire to know the cleansing and healing waters after suffering for 38 years is remarkable in itself, and Jesus, the one who will be known as flowing waters, rewards his patience and dream by telling him to take up his mat and walk.

Healed, the newly cleansed fellow faces his greatest challenge. Will he realize that his healing is a call to serve others, especially those who have been suffering for a long time? Unless he does, his new life will fail to bear the fruit promised by God to those living near flowing waters. The lesson should not be lost on us.

Today, be grateful for the cleansing waters of Baptism.

What kind of service has most enriched your life?