Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense. You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36
He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” Mark 4:26-29
Piety
God, give me the wisdom to discern what you want me to do and the strength of will to leave behind what I do not need in order to answer you call without delay.
Study
“He knows not how.”
When we don’t know something, our natural curiosity compels us to seek the answer. Sometimes the questions are big: “How did the universe begin?” “Where did I come from?” “What happens after I die?”
When we need to find out something, we can either turn to books or learn from experience. Either way, we are not among those who draw back. We are not proverbial couch potatoes. We dive in to learn and study. As the sign says, “Christianity is not a spectator sport.”
However, our quest will not be easy we are reminded in Hebrews. We will need endurance to do the will of God. We may never fully learn what the will of God is or why it works. Faith compels us onward in these cases…faith supported by the friendship we have with each other and with Jesus.
Action
“For, after just a brief moment, he who is to come shall come; he shall not delay. But my just one shall live by faith, and if he draws back I take no pleasure in him.” We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life. 10:37-39
God does not hesitate to come to our aid. Do we hesitate to come to the Lord’s side? Do we draw back as introverts and leave the heavy lifting to someone else?
What do we put before our faith? Our political beliefs? Our physical needs for food, clothing, shelter, sleep and more? Our family? Our “stuff” and our quest for more “stuff?”
God put his vulnerabilities on the line for us by coming into the world as a weak and innocent child. He carried out that commitment by opening the palms of his hands to the nails that would bind him to the cross.
Take a step for mercy today. Maybe you will get some inspiration for that from a story I read last weekend. You might have seen it, too. It was the cover story in The Washington Post magazine. The headline was: “A Not-So-Simple Life: In a cramped Washington rowhouse, six women share one shower and a quest to serve God” by By Darragh Johnson. This is a story of some young adults who did not hold back. The started a small Christian (intentional) community and live to serve the poor in Washington. Here is a short passage from the story:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
So how did Jesus live? And what does He expect of His followers?
"When we get to heaven . . .," writes Shane Claiborne, a leader in the intentional community movement, "I don't believe Jesus is going to say, 'When I was hungry you gave a check to the United Way, and they fed me,' or, 'When I was naked, you donated clothes to the Salvation Army, and they clothed me.' "
This is from Claiborne's essay in "School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism." The book has become an unexpected sensation among young Christians ready to renounce their parents' pursuit of worldly success in favor of a low-income lifestyle and a commitment to working with the poor. Even more surprising has been the success of Claiborne's most recent book, "Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical," a memoir that also offers a deeper introduction to alternative Christianity and intentional communities. Published almost three years ago, it has sold almost 200,000 copies.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think these women and men have found a better and lasting possession.
No comments:
Post a Comment