February 11, 2011
Friday in the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
By Melanie Rigney
Then the eyes of (Adam and Eve) were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. (Genesis 3:7)
Then I declared my sing to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,” and you took away the guilt of my sin. (Psalms 32:5)
(Jesus took the man who was deaf and who had a speech impediment) off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. (Mark 7:33-35)
Piety
Remind me, Lord. I keep forgetting that you are powerful enough to single-handed handle all of my problems, no matter how large, how small, how complex, or how simple. (Excerpted from Remind Me, Lord by Olga Carmen de Juana)
Study
There’s an allegory going around via the Internet. A pickup driver sees a man trudging along the side of the road, carrying a bag that’s so heavy he needs to use both arms. The driver pulls over and gets out.
“Do you want a ride?” the driver shouts out the window.
The man nods.
The driver motions him to join him in the cab.
“I’ll be fine in the back,” the man says.
“Suit yourself,” the driver says as he gets out and opens the tailgate. Then he gets back behind the wheel.
After a few minutes, he looks into the rearview mirror. The man is standing in the back end, struggling to keep his balance. And he’s still holding that heavy bag.
“Put down the bag and sit,” the driver shouts out the window. “It’ll be a lot easier on you.”
The man shakes his head. “I’m fine,” he shouts back.
“Suit yourself,” the driver says.
From time to time, we’re all the man who won’t put down the bag. We don’t go to God with our burdens, real or imagined, because we think we can handle things just fine ourselves—or, like Adam and Eve, because we’re afraid of His reaction. We forget, of course, that He already knows anyway, and loves us anyway.
How much better and, in the long run, easier it is to emulate the deaf man and go to Jesus with our burdens. He’s happy to help—if we put down our pride and fear and arrogance and let Him open our hearts and souls.
Action
Put down one of your bags today, and rest in the Lord.
