April 30, 2010
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
By Melanie Rigney
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our fathers he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. (Acts 13:32-33)
“Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.” (Psalms 2:8)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” (John 14:1)
Piety
Dear Lord, in the midst of my confusion and restlessness, there is this reassuring notion: maybe you are working in me in a way I do not yet know until my mind, my lips and my heart are able to remain centered in you. Even though it seems as if you have left me in those tough times, I keep reminding myself that you never leave us…only we leave you. Help me to let go of what distracts me from you. Keep me in the circle of your warm embrace even if I do not know you are there so that you will be done. Amen.
Study
A good friend recently sent around a list of quips, the kind you frequently see on those billboards outside churches. A few made me laugh: “Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong”; “Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers”; “Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.”
But the one that stuck with me was challenging: “Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.”
For some of us, it’s not the tenets of Christianity or Catholicism that are so difficult. We believe the things in the Creed—that Jesus, God’s only begotten son, was born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; that he was crucified, died, and was buried and rose again; and that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. God’s “periods” are easier to accept, or at least not question so much, when they don’t intersect with our daily lives.
It’s different when life throws us a curve and yet we are told not to let our hearts be troubled. When a close friend dies or a child gets arrested or we are faced with a serious illness, it’s pretty darn difficult not to let our hearts be troubled. It’s difficult not to put a question mark, let out a scream, or raise a skeptical eyebrow to the period God places at the end of “Thy will be done.” At those times, the Good News may not seem very good at all.
Faith is easy, perhaps even cheap when everything is going along swimmingly. It gains texture and resonance when from the depths of despair and anger, we find the courage to say “Thy will be done,” whether or not we are confident we will ever understand why exactly it was His will. It’s easier to find that courage and confidence that spawns true faith when we commune with others and listen to their journeys and feed on their wisdom. About that, there is no question.
Action
Consider sharing some parts of your journey that started out with question marks and ended in peace with someone who is going through a similar situation and is asking “Why?”
