Daily Reflection Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings are violent! There are mountain-rending winds, earthquakes, fire, enemies, and self-mutilation. Simultaneously, today's readings are peppered with God’s gentle whisper, our longing for and faith in God, and Jesus’ determination to keep us on the right track.

Why is the bible filled with seeming opposites? And what are we supposed to take away from liturgies like today’s? Perhaps we can all agree that, depending on the needs in our own lives, God has been dramatic, like a strong wind; subtle, like a whisper in the mountains; and blunt, like Jesus in our gospel today. This is how relationships work. And, whether we notice or not, we are definitely in relationship with God. 

For me, God is mostly subtle–so subtle that a small distraction can rob me of the sound of God's voice. It’s heartbreaking to think that this happens, probably more often than I’d like to know. This is my Gehenna, defined as “a place or state of misery.” Whether you have glimpsed the presence of God or not, the mere promise of it inspires a desire to experience it. Jesus’ passionate instructions in today’s Gospel to protect us from Gehenna, are directly connected to his desire that we don’t miss the resonance of God’s voice, God’s stirring in our hearts, and the love that transforms everything. 

Of course, Jesus would never want us to actually pluck out our own eyes or cut off our hands, but he violently wants to protect us from the misery of separation from God. So, he uses images and passion that grab our attention and inspire us to stand up and work. 

Close your eyes and try to imagine how life would be if we all lived with a keen awareness of God’s action in our hearts. Does holding this image generate for you the longing for God from which our psalmist cries out? 

For most of us, distractions from God’s presence is the greatest enemy we will ever face. Human beings have been working at knowing and loving God for millennia. It takes work to rid ourselves of distractions and to find our ways to God. It may even be the hardest kind of work there is. But, if you join me, I am ready to do the work. 

Let’s promise to help each other with the subtlety of prayer, respect, and encouragement. And let’s inspire each other with the drama of personal accountability, so that we “shine like lights in the world, as [we] hold on to the word of life.”