Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 28, 2022

-

Isaiah 65:17-21     John 4:43-54

I became a Catholic in my twenties. At the time of my conversion, several people asked me why, of all the religions, had I chosen Catholicism. The question was asked as if choosing a faith were similar to choosing from a menu at a restaurant, and I recognized the question to be asking, “I understand a belief in a god, but why would He become man, suffer, die and be buried?”

And that is an excellent question. God in His omnipotence could have chosen any other way to bring us up from the nether world and change our mourning into dancing. Would God partner with us in our misery?

Today’s Gospel helps me understand His incarnation. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

Though He could have done many other things, there was nothing more fitting or convenient or beautiful than to give His life to lift us from the nether world. Who could better give us signs and wonders than God himself in the flesh?  We need God to save us, and we need God in human form to establish faith and show us a way.

As I reflect on my conversion, the physical encounters with faith were critical: simply seeing the spire of my church from my office window, inhaling the smells of incense and the church itself, hearing the distant sounds of bell ringing, participating in the ritual of showing up in the body and going through the routines of faith, appreciating the grace of a stranger and the comfort of a friend. These are signs and wonders.

We have intuitions about God. There is an order to the world that demands a source. I think if we look for truth and an explanation, we will find them all around us.

Q:  What “signs and wonders” have I witnessed today that help me believe?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday of the First Week of Lent - March 11, 2019

-
Leviticus19:1-2, 11-18  Matthew 25:31-46 As I read my assignment for today, I felt relief. I knew these readings; I could relate to them. I had heard them multiple times and thought that I understood them well. The first reading from Leviticus tells me to love my neighbor as myself and to judge my neighbor justly. I know this! I believe this in my head! I often find it difficult to carry out, but I do believe it. Today’s gospel, Matthew 25, many of us know well through readings, songs, and social concerns committees, "Whatever you do for one of the least of …mine, you do to me." Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; welcome the stranger; clothe the naked; comfort the sick; visit the prisoner. We try to do these things in our life. I decided to read our parish book, Stranger God by Richard Beck, to see how it could expand my understanding of Matthew 25 – and expand it did! After I read the book, I realized that I had been reading Matthew 25 literally. ...
Read more

Fifth Sunday of Lent - March 26, 2023

-
Isaiah 43:16-21 Philippians 3:8-14 John 8:1-11 Unfortunately, I am able to easily say that death is the most significant image that is present in my life at this time. My wife of 50+ years died approximately 2½ years ago. My wife was a seriously  committed Catholic and she was able to accept her death after an illness of less than 2 years. She said, “Jim, I am ready.” I think a lot about what “ready” means and what it meant to Kathy! Clearly, Kathy thought that she had accomplished a full life of being a mother to our children, being a loving and faithful wife to me, and being an active and meaningful friend to the people she met and the organizations she assisted and contributed to. She was at her best when assisting “others.” Probably the biggest contribution Kathy made to me and our children was that she has made it easy for us to face our own deaths because she was “at peace” with her imminent death; and yet she showed us a graceful way to handle the process and demonstrate tha...
Read more

Annunciation of the Lord - March 25, 2021

-
Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 Psalm 40:7-8a,8b-9,10,11 Hebrews 10:4-10 Luke 1:26-38 In the Responsorial Psalm, I hear these words, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will,” and I immediately begin to hum the song we hear so often during mass: “Here I am Lord, here I am, I come to do your will.“ As I begin each day at my kitchen table reading the daily scriptures, a reflective app on my phone, and the daily devotional Jesus Calling, I sit in joyful hope, waiting to hear what God has to say to me. Although I don’t believe I will ever hear the enormous call that our mother Mary heard in the Annunciation of our Lord, I do try every day to listen and hear what God is calling me to do as a humble daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. I feel all are called according to God’s plan in small and large ways; the trick is recognizing the signs when God is calling us. It is easy to get lost in all the “have to-dos of the day” in our crazy busy world. Today, let us start by asking Him to guide us to re...
Read more