Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Imagine a world without mixed messages, where motives are pure and people mean what they say. When one thinks of a group of people who function without mixed messages we typically think children. Not only are there motives pure or at least visible, they seldom speak with sarcastic tongue. When a child says ‘trick of treat’ their motives are pure, they want candy. It is no wonder Jesus encourages us to have faith like a child as the Lord desires pure motives from all of us. There are times as we grow older when our messages become less clear and our motives impure. These times we need reminders of the truth or a challenge to do the right thing.
Challenges can from so many directions sometimes they can be disarming. The Lord gives us commandments to help us navigate the roads with forks in the road. Honoring our father and mother means we need to have a sense of respect for our parents that goes beyond our own feelings. The toughest thing to hear from a parent especially when we are young is “No.” This “no” often demands an act of obedience that conflicts with our personal desires or goals.
As believers, we learn that our desires do not always equate to God’s desire for us. It is in these moments when we need to let the Lord’s desire for us penetrate our hearts. This is an act of obedience that we are being invited into constantly. Ironically, this submission to God totally makes us freer. Imagine a person trying to play a flute with the bow of a violin. It does not work. When the violinist pulls the bow across the same violin he has played for years, they can make beautiful music. So too it is with us. Do we keep the instrument in good shape? Do we keep it tuned and ready to be played at all times? Consider one way today that you could send both God and others less mixed messages. Amen!
-Michael Montgomery