Thursday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
Rom 8: 31b-39; Lk 13: 31-35
by Dc. Larry Brockman
It doesn’t matter how the deck is stacked against you in today’s secular world. It just doesn’t matter. You might have dropped the winning touchdown pass; burned the pot roast; forgotten to do your homework; or a whole host of other little things that make you feel sad. All of us, at some time or another, feel down on our luck, and depressed that things are not going our way. We might even say to ourselves- why me? But, the fact is that none of these things really matters as long as you recognize that God loves you and is there for you in whatever your distress might be.
Today’s Gospel story is something all of us who might think we are down on our luck, should take to heart. Some Pharisees come to Jesus to tell him that Herod is after Him. “You better leave”, they say. Jesus had travelled through Palestine preaching and teaching the people. He talked about a new Kingdom- the Kingdom of God. People like Herod wanted it to stop; Palestine was his Kingdom- there wasn’t going to be another Kingdom if he had anything to say about it. Jesus talked about sins and the need for asking forgiveness of sins. He talked about believing with your heart, and not just following the Mosaic Law. This threatened the Pharisees and the Jewish establishment. For weeks now we have seen how the establishment was trying to trick Jesus in the Gospel stories so they could bring charges against him. Jesus felt the pressure, felt the heat. Jesus, whose message was one of love and hope for the future, was being rejected by the establishment despite His best efforts. Jesus was feeling down on his luck, and unsuccessful in His mission. And the establishment was right there with worldly advice- “if you know what’s good for you, get out while the getting is good- Escape!” But Jesus resolved to do the will of His Father. He knew He was there for Him.
Doesn’t this whole scenario sound familiar? Because one of the most frequent responses we have to being down on our luck is escape. But life is not about escape. Living life is about facing our dragons, whatever they are, not running away from them. We ought not to escape when the going gets tough, but rather embrace the problem- try harder. Cook another pot roast; try harder in the next football game; renew your efforts to do your homework because you know that God is there for you. The love of God is something that no power on earth can stop. And you know what? If we learn this lesson in little things, then when the big problems come along, when you lose your job; or find you have some terrible illness; or you lose a loved one; then even when these things happen, you won’t try to escape, to run away. Rather, you will trust in the Lord.
Why? Because “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor present things nor future things, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus”.
