During my
reflection today, the image of Jesus encountering numerous people who were “troubled
and abandoned” was a
great reminder that each of us, if not all of us, has our own interior troubles
(Matthew 9:32-38). We can feel alone,
confused, uncertain and lost at times. The
person who doesn’t feel this way is either a perfect saint or isn’t honest with
themself. Deep holiness and union with
God can cure this interior struggle that many have. In that case, the person clearly knows they
belong to the family of God, understands themself as a son or daughter of God,
and finds deep peace in this truth. But
for those of us who struggle, this gospel of Matthew can be especially comforting
for us.
First of
all, to be “troubled” could be caused by many things. For some, they struggle with memories of the
past, broken relationships, a lack of direction, serious sin, anger and the
like. So the first question to honestly
ponder is whether or not we have a troubled heart. Even the greatest of saints will find some
areas they struggle with.
Secondly,
feeling “abandoned” is a heavy cross. The
reason Jesus came was to enable us to belong to His family. That’s accomplished by the gift of eternal
salvation which must begin now. By
receiving the forgiveness of sins and growing in a life of prayer, we come to
know God in a very intimate and personal way. Yes, He is the Almighty God and Creator of
all. But He’s also deeply personal and
intimate, and He wants to form a real relationship of love with each of us.
When we
struggle with either of these, being troubled and/or abandoned, it might help
to consider the zeal that Jesus has for us. His tireless and extensive travels, by foot,
while He was engaging in His public ministry, should be seen as a sign to us of
His zeal to come to each one of us, personally, to become our Shepherd. He wants to lift every burden and clear the
way for us to discover our place in His family. The “Gospel of the Kingdom” that Jesus preached was one that
invited everyone to become a member of that Kingdom. As He comes to us, His heart is filled with the
same compassion as it was when He traveled the countryside so long ago. He sees each of us, gazes at our heart with
love, and never takes His eyes off of us in our need, weakness and sin.
He wants to shepherd
us with every fiber of His being; we should let Jesus fulfill His mission in and
through us, because as He said, “The harvest is abundant,
but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers
for his harvest.” This means He wants us to help each other
through love in our times of trouble and abandonment.
No comments:
Post a Comment