Opening Prayer:
O God, our Father, Creator of all that is, give us the courage to wrestle with the questions you ask us rather than jumping to some immediate answer—thereby cutting off any possibility of real growth or struggle. Help us stay in the question long enough to hear what it is you have for us there. In the name of Jesus. Amen. (JLB)
Psalm for the Week: Psalm 13
Scripture for the Day: John 5:1-9
Reading for Reflection:
Reflection and Listening: silent and written
Jesus
is too much for us. The Church is a kind
of collective teenager. Perhaps we’re
gradually getting ready to let the Gospel talk straight to us. We have always wanted answers, because in an
early stage of human life the first thing we need is certainty. But Jesus doesn’t offer us any certainties;
he offers us a journey of faith. Jesus
doesn’t give us many answers; he tells us what the right questions are, what
questions the human soul has to wrestle with to stumble onto Christ and the
truth.
Our
formulations determine what we’re really looking for. Our questions determine what we ultimately
find and discover. Answers acquire power
too quickly; they often turn our words into ammunition to be used against
others. And answers make trust unnecessary,
they make listening dispensable, they make relations superfluous. Having my answers, I don’t need you in order
to take my journey. I need only my head,
my certainties, and my conclusions. It’s
all private. But Jesus said we have to
live in this world so as to be dependent on one another. The real meaning of a poor life is a life of
radical dependency, so I can’t arrange my life in such a way that I don’t need
you. We can’t do it alone. (Simplicity
by Richard Rohr)
Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself
Song for the Week: How Firm a Foundation
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
Closing Prayer:
It seems to me Lord
that we search
much too desperately
for answers
when a good question
holds as much grace
as an answer.
(Seasons of the Heart by Macrina
Wiederkehr)
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