Remaining Tranquil

In today's first lesson, Isaiah 7: 1-9, we read that "when the word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in "Ephraim, the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind."  The Lord sends Isaiah to King Ahaz, encouraging him to remain calm in the face of an invasion from the North.  "Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail...." The "blazing anger" of the northern kingdom "shall not stand, it shall not be!....[W]ithin sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!"

"It shall not be!" "This shall not stand."  How often do you and I "tremble like trees in the wind," not remembering that every hair on our heads is known to the Lord. And, yes, He protects each strand.  He knows when disaster looms, when Satan is about to strike, hurling boulders of temptations at us, rocks that could destroy "houses" not built on faith.  "Take care you remain tranquil," no matter what!Why? Because the power of redemption, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is at work in the world, in you and me, in our families, in our loved ones, in our parishes, our workplace, in areas that seem about to fall to Satan's deceptive snares.  "It shall not be" because God is in charge. God took possession of us in our baptism into Christ Jesus. We belong to Him, not to the world, not to that which is not-God. 

Do our actions in the face of "invasions of the tempter" reveal the strength of our faith?

Jesus Turns to Gaze upon Us and to Address Us

The gospel of today’s liturgy (catholic Mass) opens with the words: “Great crowds were following Jesus and He turned to address them…”  Imagine being a part of that crowd. Jesus turns and your eyes meet! He speaks directly to you nonverbally. Love touches your heart deeply and it is transformed by that look of love.  St. Paul, in today’s first reading, Romans 13, 8-10, tells us that we “[o]we nothing to anyone, except to love one another….Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of” each of the commandments that instruct us to “not commit adultery; …not kill; …not steal; …not covet.”  Imagine being so transformed by Jesus’ loving gaze that your love for yourself and others is set ablaze.  Judgments cease on your part. You begin to look for the good, even the smallest good, in your neighbor, in yourself, in your loved ones, in those with whom you are at odds, in those  whose attitudes sting like salt on an open wound. And you not only look for that good, you name it,  you point it out to that person.  “Love,” St. Paul teaches, “is the fulfillment of the law.”  And yes, you yourself, are fulfilled by that kind of loving!

Lord, may I have the courage and the humility today to be loving, that is to look for good in myself, in those with whom I come in contact, in the world, in the church, in my family and my religious community. May I risk expressing that love, naming the good I see, especially, in situations that seem depraved of any good or in persons who are raging, ranting or pouting, who are depressed or lonely or hurting, who are incredibly annoying, especially if that is me having “a bad day”, if that is me encountering maddening circumstances that seem to arise out of nowhere and that I allow to shatter my peace. In those times, may I turn to you, as you are always turned toward me. May my eyes and your eyes meet in an embrace of love, in an embrace that restores calmness to my troubled soul.