Daily Reflection for Thursday March 4, 2021
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Thursday's readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030421.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10
Responsorial: Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
Our reflection on Thursday’s readings:
“If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)
Jesus’ message is clear and consistent throughout his short public ministry. He never wavered or got off message. Love only God. Let not your hearts get hardened. Feed the poor and clothe the naked. He was clear and shared the truth always.
While the truth was revealed to some, many others thought, “Clearly this preacher wasn’t talking to me?” Jesus did not mince words. He found different ways to deliver the message, yet the intent was always the same: love God, forgive one another, and love your neighbor even if the neighbor is an enemy.
The readings today strike me at my core. In Jeremiah we read about hearts that turn away from God. They are as a barren bush in the desert, that enjoys no change of season. God’s message is clear. God is love and He asks us to turn to God always. God’s love is not given because we earned it, but granted to us by God’s grace.
God’s message is clear, and yet I turn away. Searching for answers and the whys to sorrows and tribulations, I would go to different places and spaces. I realize now, each time I went searching elsewhere I was turning my heart away from God.
I always thought that I was a person doing good in this world and so surely my heart would not move away from God. But slowly through challenging life experiences, I was recognizing the signs that something was not right. I was growing weary. I let self-doubt creep into my mind. I let work take over my spiritual practices and rituals. I was numbing emotional hurt. And I would always have good intentions for Lent but by week two those intentions turned into guilt for not following through with them. My heart was closing a bit every year until I finally recognized that I was moving away from trusting God and trusting more in my limited capacities.
I am on the journey back, committed to do the internal work necessary to keep my ear to the consistent message of Jesus that was revealed on the way to the cross, in the cross, and rising from the cross. My trust is in God and my heart is opening again.
May your heart stay close to God’s love,
Margarita Solis Deal