Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Consider for a moment, what has been the moment in your life where you drew a line in the sand and said I will go no further? Where does the strength come from when everything around us seems to suggest that creating such a line will not end well for us? Standing firm in the midst of a collapsing world is an act of total trust in God. When your brain is repeating, I cannot take any more of this torture, please give in or run away, what are we to do? Yet it is these times when God gives us the grace to persevere. And somehow the mental anguish slowly abates as we hold fast to the Lord who promises to protect us.
The protection may seem non-existent in the midst of the torture and yet we must cling to our faith with all of our heart mind and soul. This is especially difficult if we are trying to stand up for what we believe, and this belief 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 be the same. They both stayed faithful to God and God’s law, despite the mortal consequences.
The consequences which we face us are seldom mortal, yet there are times when the weight of steadfast suffering makes us feel as if we will die. This weight can feel so heavy that we feel paralyzed. In the gospel, we hear the parable of the nobleman who gave three servants gold. Upon the nobleman’s 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 complete. It is when we give God alone all power over our lives that we realize that even though we die not a hair on our head will be harmed.
Good and loving God, help us stay firmly on the path to which You have called us. Send Your Spirit to remain with always; so that when we are confronted with the choice of another road, we will stay steadfast in our faith of You, who is one God, now and forever.
-Michael Montgomery