God is a Saving God for Us

October 29 2007

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

[We are] heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:17)

…[T]he just rejoice and exult before God; they are glad and rejoice…Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation. God is a saving God for us. (Psalm 62:4, 20-21)

“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”…(to the leader of the synagogue): This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the Sabbath day from this bondage?” (Luke 13 12, 16)

Piety

Saving Lord, save me from infirmities which keep me from you. Save me from the poor choices I have made, and help me not repeat them. Save me from despair in the illnesses or injuries that come my way. Help me to know that my human suffering can bring me closer to you. Give me strength in my weaknesses and in my weakness may I give glory to you.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/102907.shtml

We are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13) We do not need to live bowed by sin. Even if we have a past or present full of sin and believe we require justice, as Jesus’ heirs we are offered the freedom of God’s love and mercy. We do not need to live as the leader of the synagogue: bound by rules, bound by fear, bound by anger, bound by power and wealth. We can choose spiritual freedom.

What about bondage of a frail body, by choices we did not make? Jesus does not chide the disabled woman. He “frees her of her infirmity.” Physical ailments, mental illness, disabilities and injuries are not always caused by our choices. The reality and randomness of physiological failure, weakness, trauma, disease is a bondage that all life shares. At one time or another all of us will be “bowed” by pain, sadness, ailments, death. It is in these times that Jesus suffers with us. The reality is that the random, undeserved bondage of being human might not have an answer in this life.

God’s mercy and Jesus’ love through his sufferings are with us no matter what we experience. Jesus stands with us, bowed as we are, just as he stood with the woman in the temple. If we know that he bears our burdens with us then we can experience spiritual freedom within human suffering. We can also choose to offer our spiritual freedom to others and stand with them in their infirmity, sorrow and pain. We also can graciously accept help from others who are Jesus’ eyes, hands and caring heart toward us.

Action

In times of trouble, to whom do I turn? Take quiet time to cultivate an awareness of God’s mercy, of God who bears your burdens and God who saves you. Spend personal time with this God as you would a dear friend who has arrived to make coffee on a very bleak, sad day. Listen to the well of silence which is not emptiness but is rather full of the promise of God’s saving power. In the quiet, choose freedom and mercy.