Reflections
for Sunday, February 27, 2011
Trust in the Lord! That is the strong message of the readings that we have
heard today. Never, ever think that God has forgotten you because that is
simply impossible. For our part, we are invited to choose God and reject
all that is not of God. The Gospel today is very clear that we cannot
choose two masters.
Why would we think that God has forgotten us? Usually because we have
encountered some deep suffering in life. For some people, it could that
they have never found the right partner and so have never married, but feel
called to be married. For others, it may be that they have never felt
loved by God. For another it might be the loss of a deeply loved person.
There can be so many reasons to feel that God has abandoned us.
It is not easy to believe that in all that happens to us, God is present
seeking to bring good from whatever happens. So many of us question why
God allows evil to happen and yet we know that without freedom, we would
not be truly human as we are.
Do we choose to try to serve two masters? Even saints have admitted that
this is true in their lives up until a certain point. It is not that we
must choose gross sin or something that is really awful and so clearly
against God. Rather, we can continue to choose to be less than God invites
us to be. We can choose a more comfortable way to live that makes us less
likely to accept sacrifices when they are necessary.
In the First Letter to the Corinthians today we hear that we should not
judge anyone. That is a strong piece of advice. It would be nice to think
that we actually live that way. Perhaps at times we do. But once in a
while we can be listening to our inner thinking and find that we have
negative thoughts about others. There is a real challenge to living in
inner peace and never judging another person.
This Sunday we can pray for a deeper commitment to God for ourselves and
for others. We can ask for a trust that sustains us every day and a
commitment that is clearly choosing God. Even if we do not receive those
gifts immediately, praying for them is on the way of peace.
Readings of the day:
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Gospel:
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Reflections are available for the following Sundays:
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