He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Our daily and weekly liturgies -- the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours -- along with our personal devotions continually remind us of God's mercy to the repentant. And we must continually retrieve our distracted attention, bringing it back to that awareness of God's presence, authority, and benevolent mercy.
That deliverance which Saint Paul invokes is a continual act -- a delivering from -- and an endless transferring into the Kingdom of his beloved Son. We can look for signs of that presence and find them as surely as we experience the presence of oxygen and the demands of gravity. If you've any doubt about the former, put your head in a bucket of water for two minutes and rediscover the joy of oxygen But, if you've got some years behind you, as I have, you don't have to do that much to notice again the persistence of gravity. It gets more demanding all the time! God's mercy is like that.
As is the persistence of guilt. As Spenser's tale of the Red Knight reminds us, the longer we live the more past sins we accumulate. Reflection recalls, and repentance teaches, us gratitude and humility. If we have anything to boast of it can only be the cross of Christ.
In today's gospel the young Saint Peter was suddenly overwhelmed with the awareness of his sins. As the old Jesuit told me, "His facts were right; his conclusion was wrong." He was a sinful man, but the Lord should not go away from him.
Rather, he stayed to help the fisherman reassemble himself into a disciple. He began with the awareness of God's love, and then he restored lost assets and dismissed his useless debits. He was still a fisherman with the patience, discipline, and professionalism of that trade. All of which he brought to apostleship. And, like the fisherman who discards whatever trash his nets collect, he let go of those ideas and attitudes that no longer fit his ministry.
It was no easy chore, but it was made easier by his personal loyalty and intense devotion to the Landlubber who stood before him in the boat. Jesus does that for each of us, especially through the Sacrament of Penance and his Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.