Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
As we wind down this liturgical year, and mark the final days of ordinary time, it’s a great opportunity to take stock of our lives, looking over our shoulders and gazing ahead expectantly to Advent and the new Church year. This year 2019 was a remarkable time in my life – full of hardship, challenges, and uncertainty, and also abundantly joyful, filled with adventure, love, and growth. As I look back over the year, I’m mindful that liturgical time is most significant. We mark the calendar; God marks eternity. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart . . . (Ecclesiastes 3:11). As I reminisce on my life in 2019, I also reflect in light of the liturgical year. It’s astonishing to me how many times a profound event in my life occurs on a particular saint’s feast day that has specific relevance to what’s taken place. I consider ways that the rhythms of the Church year influenced my growth, my response to life’s events. Where and how did I experience God in all of it? Part of reflecting liturgically this week involves the concept of perseverance as we complete another year and as we anticipate the end times themselves. As we ponder our lives today, let’s consider how easy or difficult it is for us to persevere.
I mentioned that 2019 was particularly difficult for me in many ways. Perhaps it was for you, too. Sometimes we have warning signs of difficulty ahead; sometimes trials come upon us suddenly and unexpectedly. Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are blunt. Perhaps even frightening for some. Notice that he addresses the crowd. I take it to mean that these words apply to everyone. Read his words with a particular attention to your feelings. How do his words make you feel? I encourage you to pause for a moment and let the impact sink in, and welcome whatever feelings rise up within you.
Have you experienced some of what Jesus describes? Jesus says we will face persecution because of our Christian faith and our witness. Sometimes persecution comes at the hands of our loved ones. Betrayal, criticism, rejection, or abandonment by family members can be particularly traumatic. Jesus paints this stark picture of reality for us out of love. Our loving Lord shows us what to expect. And because our very selves and every aspect of our lives are held securely in God’s loving arms, we can be confident that nothing ever happens outside God’s awareness and absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39). We persevere within the embrace of God’s love, never outside of it, never alone or apart from God. Jesus also gives us this promise in today’s Gospel: I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking . . . not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives. Jesus gives us whatever we need for every situation of our lives – wisdom is just one example. Can we trust that his promise is true? Can we take Jesus at his Word? Let’s take a moment and examine ourselves in the light of our Lord’s promise. As you become aware of specific obstacles to your trust in God, ask Jesus to give you whatever specific graces you need to overcome them and to grow in your ability to persevere.
Two Sundays ago, Fr. Satish preached on this Gospel text. He encouraged us to understand perseverance not so much as not giving up but rather not giving in. As you reflected a moment ago on the feelings this text triggered for you, consider the extent to which you’ve been giving in to those emotional reactions to life’s challenges. I’m asking myself the same. Based on our experience this past year, how does our current capacity for perseverance influence our entering into the new Church year? Do you feel better or less able to persevere in the face of hardship? If perseverance is difficult, perhaps this Advent would be a good time to invite Emmanuel, God with Us, to assure us of his constant presence and the certainty of his promises to each of us. Let’s allow the regular rhythms of the liturgical year, and the constancy of the rhythms of Creation to remind us of God’s faithfulness. We can persevere because God is Love and God is faithful. Alleluia!
- Elizabeth Wourms