Thursday of Week 15 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Isaiah 26:7-9,12,16-19 | Psalm 101:13-21 | Matthew 11:28-30
So it’s the end of a very long and rather difficult day, in a endless string of long and difficult days. How shall we unwind?
A few hours playing a favorite first-person shooter game, while mentally painting our business antagonists’ faces on the opponents?
HEADSHOT! Booyah! Take that, you fat *****!
Or perhaps downing a couple of pints at the local bar, to drown our sorrows?
That fat ***** can go ***** himself! Now I have to cut my margins just to stay in the running for that very lucrative tender! *****!
Or perhaps taking a cue from today’s Gospel:
Lord, today could’ve gone better, but I guess You had something in mind when you let me experience all that unpleasantness. It’s late and I’m tired, but thank You for everything today, and it would be nice if you could inspire me in my sleep. See you tomorrow, Lord.
<zzzzzsnxsnx>
Good morning, Lord. I guess I’d better get to the office early and try to figure a way out of this me…oh. Oh. OH! Why didn’t I think of that before?!?! Thank you, Lord, for saving my ***!
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When I started nightly reflections on the daily Word of God, there was a niggling doubt deep within that I might not be able to sustain this pace, that I’d run into writer’s block before long, that I was just setting myself up for a prideful fall.
That doubt, after exactly 100 entries, isn’t there any more. On the contrary:
- reading a few words from centuries ago,
- spending some time pondering them,
- occasionally looking up odd phrasings and curiously contradictory messages,
- reading others’ interpretations of the same passages, then
- blogging my own thoughts
has been remarkably relaxing and rather addictive. I’m not sure I could stop if I wanted to…and I’m a long way from wanting to.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
I’ve long retained a romantic image of a quiet neighborhood bar playing soft music, with a wise bartender dispensing drinks and advice in equal measure, but especially generous with a listening ear. There’s a priest who does something similar every Friday at a local eatery, and I can easily imagine Jesus playing this role with love and understanding.
Welcome to the Lord’s Bar, where the love flows freely and the patrons leave refreshed! Don’t forget to tip the barkeep with daily prayer!
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me
for you are God my saviour. (Psalm 24:4-5)
Amen.