Thursday of Week 14 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Hosea 11:1-4,8-9 | Psalm 79:2-3,15-16 | Matthew 10:7-15
When Israel was a child I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
But the more I called to them, the further they went from me (Hosea 11:1-2)
I’ve done my share of running away from the Lord in my life, but something or (more often) someone always ends up drawing me back.
From my college chapel’s music director, who was always patient with me even when I cut mass several Sundays in a row…
To a horrific accident that took ten years to sink in…
To my atheist friend and his incessant poking at my faith…
To, oddly enough, the American entertainment industry. Yes, the mind boggles at “Hollywood for God”. ?
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
Like most adults, I spend a non-trivial amount of time watching TV and movies. It recently dawned on me that many thrillers will feature at least one scene where a hapless victim or hero is running away from the bad guys…and towards a cliff, waterfall or other precipitous drop-off.
Which begs the question: When we run away from God, what are we running towards, and how much will it cost us?
Lord, You call us to eternal salvation, so there is no reason for us to flee. Give us the courage to run towards You at all times, trusting in Your love always. Amen.