3rd Sunday of Easter (Year A)
Acts 2:14,22-33 | Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11 | 1 Peter 1:17-21 | Luke 24:13-35
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm. (Psalm 16:7-8)
Two nights ago, I had a rather troubling meeting with my new parish priest, and had to break several bits of bad news to my fellow choir leaders.
As I stood in the shower, trying to relax my tensed muscles, I had a sudden mental image of myself as a modern-day Jonah, about to be swallowed by a whale.
As you might have guessed, I had a rather restless night, wondering whether it was time to move to another parish, as I’m sure some perturbed ministers in my parish already have, and others are seriously contemplating.
Not 12 hours later, I was at St. Teresa’s for a wedding. I was walking to the toilet to relieve myself before the service, when I stopped dead in front of a poster on the church bulletin board. Shaken, I did my business, then came out and stared at the poster again.
This is what I saw:
If I was a little woozy from lack of sleep before, I was wide awake now.
Another 12 hours later, in nocturnal silence, I’m forced to confront my concerns:
- Am I running away from God’s mission for me?
- What is His mission for me?
I have no clear answers yet, though not for lack of input from many folks around me. Ironically, it was my new parish priest who reminded me that doing God’s work often requires “dying to self”, and that there’s a very small step from getting comfortable in my ministerial role—to becoming stagnant.
What is clear, though, is that there’s no running from the Lord, only ignoring Him. We’re so quick to turn to Him when we’re in pain and when uncertainty abounds, conveniently forgetting that He’s been quietly counselling us every day of our lives, if we choose to listen.
The best option, now and always, is to simply trust in Him, and stand firm on the path of life that He has pointed out to us all the while.
So, brothers and sisters, if you’ve been shaken and stirred by recent events in your life, look back at your last few days. The Lord may already have given you the best advice possible, in ways that you overlooked.
Amen.