Sunday Reflections

I would venture to say that almost everyone at some time or another, to a greater or lesser degree has wondered where God is at the most painful and tragic times of our lives. It was the same experience that Jesus had as he hung upon the cross.  Looking down at a world that was rejecting him and looking up at a heaven that seemed closed, Jesus thought that God had forsaken him. But he didn’t; it just seemed that way. God reminded Moses of all the many ways he had taken care of them. How he bore them, over and over again, on eagles’ wings.  And God does the same for us. The reason we sometimes think God is not with us or is silent is that perhaps we are looking in the wrong direction for help. We look to the heavens for an answer, and all the while, the answer is all around us.

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) wrote a beautiful poem called “Christ has no Body”.  Christ has no body but yours, she writes.  We are Christ’s hands, eyes, feet.  In other words, we are the church. The things we pray for are already being answered by the way we live, love and act in the world. That is why Christ chose the apostles to spread the good news and call other disciples to follow in his footsteps. And here we are, two thousand years later, still fumbling and stumbling but moving toward love, empowered by the Spirit, drawing the church and the world toward completion.

This Sunday, may we remember that we are God’s people, the sheep of his pasture and that God always and everywhere bears us up on eagles’ wings. And let us invite others to join in this great procession home.