Tuesday of Holy Week

Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Sometimes in life we feel like we aren’t making any progress. We feel like we are treading water or worse sinking. We wonder if we have toiled in vain, for nothing, spending our time, talents, and treasures on things that aren’t bearing fruit. However, God doesn’t judge us on the outcome of our endeavors. He judges us by the intentions and reasons behind our thoughts, words, and works. We might not experience worldly success in any of our endeavors and yet still be successful in the eyes of the Lord because we did the right thing or made God the center of our lives. We are all called to be lights to the nations and if we do God’s Will to the best of our abilities, then we shall succeed in the greatest task before us... being good and faithful servants to our Heavenly Father.

Are all our thoughts, words, and works grounded in our love of God? How can we make Him the source, center, and summit of our whole lives? What can we do to remain faithful and trusting in God even when our dreams, plans, and actions don’t come to fruition as we imagined?

O Lord, our recompense is with you and not in worldly success.

Amen.

Twenty-Second Wednesday of Ordinary Time

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

After Jesus cures the mother of Simon and many others, he goes off to a deserted place to pray. However, when the crowds come looking for him in the hopes of keeping him with them, he must rebuke them just as he did the illnesses and demons. His Father’s Will is not for him to remain in one place and be satisfied or adored by crowds. Instead, his divine mission calls him to continue to preach the good news to other towns. We have a similar purpose. We are called to be living manifestations of God’s love, mercy, and grace. We cannot be satisfied with where we are spiritually. We must make progress along our own road to Jerusalem and eventually to Calvary and our own passion and death. To be Christ-like means being willing to move on when the time comes for us to take the next step in serving God.

Do we take time to silently listen to God? Are we willing to leave everything behind if an opportunity to know, love, and serve God and His children presents itself to us? In what ways do we proclaim the good news?

O Lord, we too are called to witness to your word. Give us the strength to continue on our journey with you to Calvary.

Amen.