Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

When I first read the passages from Chronicles and from Matthew they did not seem to belong together.  Chronicles relates a wrathful Lord, one intent on providing the Jewish people with the lesson of the day – transgress the Lord’s commands and find yourselves smashed by invading Arameans.  Jesus, on the other hand, provides a most spiritual message – detach yourselves from material goods and wants, and be more trusting, as are the birds and the wildflowers.  As Zechariah died, he asked the Lord to avenge him; when Jesus died, He asked the Lord to forgive His executioners.

On further reflection, it seemed to me that these passages are related after all.  The princes of Judah engaged in conduct that demonstrated they had lost their focus, had taken an easier way, had mistaken the value of their gift from God and thus placed short-term expediency over long-term growth.  They ceased to be other-directed and focused on the Lord, and were more self-directed and focused on self.

Jesus tells His listeners that they should focus on things that matter and not those that are distractions.  Jesus challenges His listeners to live more simply, less acquisitively, more spiritually.  Jesus encourages us to be more faith-filled and less troubled by the things we are powerless to change.

This is an absolutely gorgeous time of year, with flowers and trees in full bloom.  We are fortunate to live in a semi-rural area, and the songbirds at dawn always bring a smile to my face and joyful gratitude to my heart.  These summer mornings remind me to slow down, to listen with a quiet heart, to hear the word of the Lord in my daily rhythms. 

And yet, even in the midst of this wonderful time come reminders of our ultimate helplessness and thus dependency on God. In 2018, the daily living challenges of the residents of Puerto Rico, or the Island of Hawaii, come to mind.

What Jesus is calling us to do today, and what the people of Judah did not do, is to be in tune with God, to synchronize our actions with the life that God calls us to live, to detach ourselves from things that do not matter and to help God do the things that need to be done to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth.

And so my prayer today is to find the comfort of God in the uncomfortable, to open my arms and hands instead of clenching, and to seek the simple and sublime.