Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
For our reflection on this Independence Day, I’ve decided to retain, for my comments here, the readings given in the lectionary. I think they provide an appropriate source of meditation for us as disciples of our Lord Christ in our times.
The first reading tells the story of Abraham and his wife and two daughters being told by God to flee for their lives from the coming destruction of Sodom, “or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom.”
The second reading is the story of Christ’s calming the sea:
“Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?”
From the beginning of time, humanity has been confronted with disasters of one kind and another. They provoke in us a reaction of fear but also of questioning why God allows these things or even the question, is there a God?
Both stories in today’s readings address our faith. As we read or listen to the news of today, we can ask, how does my faith play a part in how I am listening and watching events unfold? It’s so easy to get over-taken with events that scare us and labor our minds with all kinds of scenarios.
Like Abraham and Sarah and the disciples of Jesus, we have to learn how to listen and watch with the conquering view of our faith. For our faith, while it does not take away fears, continually invites us to look to the Risen Lord of Glory. He has conquered the evil that is in the world and even the evil that resides in our hearts. We look to him who, in a similar story in the Gospels, said, “It is I, do not be afraid.”
It’s significant that President Abraham Lincoln, in the throes of the Civil War, relied on his faith in God in the decisions he had to make for this country. Such faith won the independence of the slaves! Today we want to be aware that many suffer the slavery of human trafficking – an evil we cannot close our eyes to.
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections