Wednesday
of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
November 26, 2014 6:30am
There is an expression in number
of the Old Testament psalms that I like very much.
The psalmist prays to God as “my refuge and my strength.”
I think of this expression in
relation to Jesus’ message in today’s gospel.
The Lord is getting his disciples
and the early believers ready for trouble.
He foresees that they will be
persecuted by the Jews because they were indirectly challenging mainstream
Judaism.
And Jesus foresees that they will
be persecuted by the civil authorities because they will be viewed as a source
of social upset because of the division with the Jews.
So Jesus prepares them for
hardship.
In some countries of the world,
Christians and members of other faiths are literally being persecuted for their
faith.
Our hardships will in all
likelihood not be literal persecution.
For most of us, the hardships
will be the normal frustrations, disappointments, sorrows, sicknesses and
losses of human life.
We will experience these even
though we are faithful to God.
In dealing with these difficult aspects
of human life, the Lord Jesus is “our
refuge and our strength” – again, to use the words of the psalms.
Jesus is our strength for
everyday life.
He is our strength for living the
day in, day out routine of life; for fulfilling our everyday responsibilities;
for sticking to it even when we would rather not.
And then Jesus is our refuge in
times of hardship.
He is the one to whom we turn
when we feel bad or get a bad doctor’s report; the one to whom we turn when we
are feel lonely or rejected; the one who gives us guidance and direction and
purpose when we feel spiritually aimless or lost.
So today, in response to this
gospel message, I suggest that we often use the words of the psalmist and pray
to the Lord as “our refuge and our
strength.”
