SATURDAY, FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Memorial of St. Benedict
Is 6: 1-8 Ps 93: 1-2, 5 Mt 10: 24-33
HAVE NO FEAR
Two attributes of God are presented to us today. Isaiah has a vision in which he sees the glory, majesty and holiness of God. God’s power is manifested in the ‘shaking of the foundations of the threshold at the voice of God’; an utterly awe-inspiring encounter which reveals the absolute transcendence of God. Contrasting this, we have the words of Jesus, in the gospel, where He assures his listeners that this transcendent God is so close to us that he even knows the number of hairs on our head! These two attributes: transcendence and closeness, are in fact not contrasts, but complimentary. And what holds them together is God’s love for us. Our human condition, however, may lead us to doubt or question both the power and the love of God.
Our world today is shrouded in uncertainty, wars, financial and health concerns, loss of freedom; a situation which naturally evokes a sense of fear. Yet Jesus invites us to ‘have no fear! ‘and to trust in an all-powerful and loving God. Trials, persecution, suffering are a part of our spiritual growth. They are inevitable. Jesus does not promise immunity, but strength to endure them. And this he has shown through his own example. We do not have a God who commands slavish allegiance from a distance. Rather by becoming like us and sharing our human condition fully, Jesus has shown that there is life and hope beyond the seemingly hopeless and defeating experiences of life. We are invited to not only share the glory of Christ, but to share in his warfare and agony. To suffer for Christ is to share in the work of Christ. By sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings, we shall also know the power of His resurrection. All our struggles will lead to victory.
May the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila “Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. They who have God lack nothing; God alone is enough,” inspire us in our moments of weakness, and let us make it our own!
Response: The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
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