Delighting in the Precepts of the Lord

In today’s first reading, Rev. 10: 8-11, John is instructed to “…take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” He was told to eat it, that it would be sweet to the palate but sour in his stomach.  God’s decrees, in the honeymoon stage of our faith development tastes sweet. In the early stages of being married, being incorporated into religious life, in the beginning of our careers, we will do anything for the Lord, anything for our spouses, anything for our employers. Nothing is held back. Eventually, what tasted sweet to the palate turns sour in our stomach. We may begin to hold back, lose our fervor.  In Chapter 3 of Revelation, the angel of the Church in Laodicea, told the people that “you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Satan delights in our wavering faith, in our lukewarmness, as he prowls this earth seeking souls to destroy. Will I be deceived by Satan’s allurements and lose my original fervor? What do I need to do be reigniting my fervor, my love, my delight in the Lord? What efforts am I willing to take to fall in love with the Lord again, to rekindle my love for my spouse, to recommit to religious life and its total giving of self to loving God, loving other and serving without counting the cost?

Blessed are Those Who Choose to do Good

In today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 1, David pronounces those “blessed” who do not follow evil ways, ways that are immoral and sinful, unkind, rude, malicious; who do not walk in the ways of sinners. We know that we all are sinners, yet we have the choice every single day, every moment,  to choose the good, to make wholesome choices, to be decent human beings: reliable, trustworthy, helpful, persons who live high-quality lives.  We are capable of doing so, of serving the Lord with a generous heart, a noble heart. God is a give-away God and calls us to be the same: to give ourselves to others, to give ourselves to noble endeavors, to give ourselves in ways that make this world, someone’s world,  a better place, to make a difference in someone’s life today by our smile, by offering a helping hand to our spouse, our children, our neighbor, a community member; by  saying “I’m sorry” when we have wronged someone, by reaching out to someone who has fallen into “a pit” of loneliness and despair, who need a shoulder to lean on, of delighting “in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1).

The other choice is to make life difficult for someone as did the crowd in today’s Gospel, Luke 18: 3-43.  A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging when Jesus passed by. He heard all the noise and wondered what was going on. Someone in the crowd had the courtesy to tell him that Jesus was passing by. The blind man shouted: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” “The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” Jesus sensed what was happening, “stopped and ordered that he be brought to him” and He answered his request to be healed of his blindness.

Who would I have been? The persons willing to help or those who wanted the man to shut up? Would I have used this opportunity to make a positive difference, to show that I cared about the person in need? Would I have given a helping hand or tried to dismiss him?