Lectionary: 295...she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
Is it just me or has the news become more alarming recently? Wars, threats of war, plagues, droughts, floods, infestations, infrastructure catastrophes, partisan politics: they just keep piling up with no end in sight. The wars in Europe and the mid-East have been especially troubling -- perhaps because these are "white people -- but the conflicts in Africa and Haiti are also killing people and destroying nations. Those conflicts might also metastasize.
I am sure the 24/7 news cycle contributes to our angst and I have often urged people to severely limit their intake of that entertainment. They are, after all, only using the news to sell products that we don't need, don't want, and can't use. Although amusement sells products, alarm and anxiety are more successful.
Clearly, if we choose to respond, it should be with prayer and works of mercy. Fasting wouldn't hurt either, although the people who worry the most seem to be too old and too set in their ways to learn that healthy practice.
But mostly, we should hear the encouraging words of Jesus and turn our attention back to him whenever we're sorely distracted.
...your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
People of faith grieve when it's time to grieve, and rejoice the rest of the time. Our good works, our courtesy, generosity, and courage are born of confident joy. So long as God is in charge, why should I worry? And when God is not in charge, we'll all be lost forever and there will be nothing to do about it.
But that won't happen, so why worry? Even our grief is born of that confidence that we may cry to our heart's content and then, when it's passed, resume our self-sacrificing habits.
Saint Paul demonstrates that confident joy in today's first reading. He had hoped to announce the Gospel in Rome ever since that day when, on the road to Damascus, he heard the Lord's voice. If the opportunity to get there as a prisoner, courtesy of the government, arose, why not take it? Other than his shipwreck in Malta, which proved to be a lark, it was a pleasant journey; and much good came of it.
...your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.