Words of hope and encouragement are there if you seek God

Prayer for the Day Lord God, continue to badger me with your love even when I discount it and seem not to appreciate it for what it is: the most important part of my life. Be with me as I receive and draw me to gratitude for the WONDER of that love and to be led by it to serve others in your name. Amen

Reflection

We might well ask what the signs or miracles are that point the way to God today, what voices call us and what it is that they call us to. Do we look only to the Pope and to our parish priest for divine guidance? Or do we also seek God's voice in the people around us at work or at home, in the news, or at prayer?

Most days, when I’m reading the next day’s assigned Scripture passages, I’m looking for hope, or at least encouragement. But the readings for tomorrow—for the most part—are neither hopeful nor encouraging:  

Many children are endangered.  One is saved. It’s a tale of greed, anger, murder, and exile. (Exodus 2:1-15a)   It’s like life today, with unpleasant twists and turns (Father Corapi?) and unexpected brutality (genocide, abortion, assisted suicides).

The psalm is about anguish and distress; and offers prayers that enemies suffer spectacular and awful punishments. (Psalm 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34)  Read any comments to any story posted on the internet—there is enough vitriol and calumny there to make one wonder how some of these people can live with such hate for everything and everyone else!

Jesus tells people in certain towns that surely they will burn in hell. (Mathew 11:20-24) What was their sin?  They were thick-headed!  Does that mean that if I’m not bright enough to discern God’s message, I will go straight to Hell?

Whoa!  Let’s read the passages again! 

The infant saved in Exodus will be God's instrument of salvation.  God protects him.  Moses finds refuge, even after committing murder.  God's purpose is being played out even when all we see is evil and despair.

There is a scrap of hope in the psalm:  ". . . You who seek God, take heart . . . "

There is the focus! Seek God.  Do not be distracted by evil, do not obsess about what others do or say.  Seek God.  Take heart.

With this attitude, the passage from Matthew offers a new understanding: Jesus is telling us that it is important for us to pay attention.  Jesus' words are bursting with hope and encouragement.  How?  Why?

Because God is alive and with us here and now, and that should make a difference in the way that we live.  If it doesn't, if Jesus has no impact, then nothing can save us.

The gospel reading follows immediately on the passage in which Herod arrests and kills John the Baptist, and Jesus seems to somewhat suddenly take up the prophetic voice that John had used. There is more than a touch of anger in his words, and we can take them to be an accusation not only against these specific towns but against that whole generation and their rejection of John as well.

Jesus speaks of the many signs and miracles; not only his own but also John's, that should have led to conversion.

We too should be listening for a word from God in all of them, of course, although we need to work hard to discern the true signs among the many and to recognize God's authentic voice in all of our busy noise.

And to do that we need to pray, regularly and from our heart.

There!  There is our hope and encouragement!  Whew!