Wednesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
Consider for a moment, what may have been one of the most traumatic things that has ever happened in your life? Creating such a list may seem like running our nails on a chalkboard. But consider for a moment that even without making such a list, we most likely to have survived and forgotten many traumatic events. As a teenager I recall asking the girl I liked to a dance, only to be turned down. I had liked the girl for many years and felt heartbroken. Although my world was shattered, my life continued. Eventually I realized there would be other girls to ask new dances. Looking back I am grateful that I did not allow those moments of mental anguish to paralyze me or cause me to give up.
Moments of anguish can seem not only mental but physical as well. It can seem as if your whole body is wrapped up in the pain of these events. The biggest challenge is how to deal with situations when we are in the midst of them. This is especially difficult if we are trying to stand up for what we believe, and that stand may mean more pain or even death. In today’s reading from Maccabeus’s we encounter a mother who has already seen six of her sons be executed for staying true to their faith. The king asked her help to encourage her seventh son to give up his faith so that he might live. The mother pretended to do as the king asked, yet quietly encouraged her last son to stay to true to his faith. Not only was the mother courageous, she encouraged her son to do the same. They both stayed faithful to God and God’s law, despite the mortal consequences.
How often are we confronted with mortal consequences for practicing our faith? And even if we are, do we recognize those consequences? In the gospel we hear the parable of the nobleman who gave three servants gold. Upon the nobleman’s (kings) return he asked the three servants what they had done with the gold. Two of the servants had invested the gold and doubled its value. The third servant hid the gold out of fear of the king. Imagine the servant’s fear and how it crippled his ability to use the gift he had been given. What happens to us when we are that afraid?
Fear may be powerful. But faith can be a light that overcomes any darkness, including fear and death. Today’s readings give us models to follow when faced with anguish. First stay true what you have been taught and live it, in spite of easier choices. Second, use the gifts God has given you and stay true to them for the benefit of the whole community. Thirdly, hold steadfast to your faith so that your joy will be full.
"Good and loving God, help us always to walk in the path you have chosen for us. Send your Spirit to remain with always; so that when confronted with the choice of another road, our faith will help us to stay true to You alone. Amen"
-Michael Montgomery