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| Reflection for - July 13, 2008
Last week the Lord Jesus summoned us to develop the trait of humility. This week we are asked to develop the trait of receptivity. Due to family obligations, work schedules, and the general busy-ness of our lives, often we do not take the time we need simply to allow God to speak to us. The metaphors reveal that we need to be like fertile soil, awaiting the rain and nutrients that will enrich us. For us, the word of God provides nutrients for the soul. Today, let us be especially attentive to God's saving word, allowing that word to enrich our lives.
Name one way that you can be more receptive to God's
action in your own life.
Next Sunday’s Readings & Reflections– July 20, 2008
First Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Between 150 B.C. and 100 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt, the author reflects on the precarious situation of his fellow Jews in the city. Alexandrian Jews retain a distinctive identity. The author and the other Jews are like the general population ,but are very different. This leads to misunderstanding and even persecution from the outside, and an identity crisis on the inside.
The author of this passage reminds the Alexandrian Jews that their God is Lord; his people need no other. God rules with patience and clemency and allows for repentance and forgiveness. Yet, he rebukes those who confuse his kindness with weakness. Indeed, our beleif in God's pwer is the measure of our faith. How we respond reflects the depth of our trust in Him.
How do you show trust in God?
Second Reading: Romans 8:26-27
God's Spirit appeals on our behalf in ways we cannot even imagine. Sometimes, we see prayer as a simple conversation between Creator and creature. Or, we define prayer as a ritual repitition we use to present ourselves before God. Prayer is when we find we are "in tune" with divinity. Prayer is all these things, but it is much deeper.
The Spirit is the cause and medium of prayer. When we sincerely pray, we are simply instruments of the Spirit. That thought gives us comfort. If we really seek to pray in God's will, our prayers come from the Spirit. Prayer is God-originated, God-directed, and God-oriented. With the Spirit, we have the ear of God. With the Spirit, we can find the ways of God. We may not understand how the Spirit works, but we can trust in the results.
Ask the Spirit for his strength and widom in your prayer life.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30
Christianity can answer the question of evil in the world. The root of the answer lies in our free will. Our freedom lies in a choice: to walk closer to the Lord, or to walk away from the Lord. To walk closer to the Lord involves the choice of love. We realize God loves us and we love him in return. In the choice of love, we extend our love to others. The world becomes the means to exercise love.
God does not infringe on our free will. God even uses rejection as the opportunity for greater good as He did with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The moral and immoral live in the same world, because God created the world as the means to exercise moral freedom. Only hope, based upon the choice of love, can ultimately answer the scandal of evil in the world. God gives us a choice. Are we the wheat or the weed? What sort of fruit do we produce? If the answers to these questions are less than clear, never fear. God gives us the chance and the means to change and walk closer to Him. But the chance requires action. Inaction is not an option.
How does faith insprie you to face the problems of evil?
www.word-sunday.com-Larry Brodings, 1999-200
World Library Publications, Jerry Galipeau, MAR-AUg 2008
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