Daily Reflection for Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Peace and blessings, friends and parishioners!
We encourage you to reflect on Tuesday’s readings at this link: Click here.
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm: 102: 2-3, 16-18, 19-21
Gospel: John 8:21-30
Our reflection on Tuesday’s readings:
“He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” -John 8:29
For me, on the surface, today’s readings offer me images of unpleasantness and feelings of uneasiness. Much like what is going on in our world as I write this reflection. Images of dying in the desert (people dying alone), no food or water (shortage of toilet paper), and being bitten by a serpent(COVID-19) seem all too familiar. These are some of the same images that we are hearing about on the news, and even before the crisis of COVID-19, no doubt. We have to stare down that serpent to live.
“O Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry come to you.” -Psalm 102:2
Hope is not only the underlying message of today’s readings. But it is the overall message of our Christian faith. We must cling to hope, not fear. Fear can consume us. Hope should comfort us. Not only are we hearing about some of the not so pleasant stories in the news, but there is also an abundance of stories of hope, and compassion, and love, that can also be found in the news. These are the stories to listen to. These are the stories of reassurance.
Today, and in the days to come, please pray for all of the Healthcare Workers who are those instruments of hope in our world today.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,
Tim Bush