...and they took offense at him.
God’s brightness is blinding; his generosity, overwhelming; and his graces, overflowing. In today’s gospel Jesus’ presence, his appearance in the synagogue, and his words to the congregation are too much. They wanted to sip from a water fountain and were startled by a geyser, a gushing fire hose of God’s mercy. And they took offense at him.
We continually try to direct God’s graces into manageable channels where we can keep our footing and enjoy his benevolence. We use our prayers and sacramental rituals like irrigation ditches to nurture the roots of faith, hope and love. And that is good. But periodically these channels become too close, too narrow, like old pipes crusted by sediment. They need flushing.
That problem might not seem obvious. “I’m okay!” I say to myself. But help is on the way and I probably won’t welcome it. It might come in the form of a health crisis, a family misunderstanding, a financial catastrophe or any number of other pestilential problems. Or all of them at once! Suddenly all hell breaks loose. It certainly doesn’t feel like a gift from heaven. It’s not the cross I would have chosen. And -- pardon me but -- I do take offense at it! Where is our all good God when we need him?
Perhaps the first word Jesus speaks to me in the middle of this blessing is, “Life was never meant to be easy.” and his second word is equally encouraging: “There is no reason you should lead a privileged existence.”
Recalling the course of our lives, we’re often surprised by how often God has saved us, and how much it hurt at the time. We say things like “Losing that job…” or “My house burning down…” was “…the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Who would have thought? I don’t know if I can survive many more blessings!
But, through it all, I will learn to rely on him. And I will finally learn gratitude even for the awful things that happen.
God’s brightness is blinding; his generosity, overwhelming; and his graces, overflowing. Just this much is enough to ponder.
ReplyDeletePeace be with you!