Daily Reflection for Friday, November 18, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111822.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Revelation 10:8-11
Responsorial Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
Gospel: Luke 19:45-48
Our reflection on Friday’s reading:
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Revelation 10:10
I was immediately drawn to the verse in Revelations 10:10 today. It seems to me that it contained a deep truth about our human condition that I need to understand. The psalmist’s refrain, “How sweet to my taste is your promise” (Psalm 119:10) underpins and connects us to God’s care and love for His people. The scroll informs us that Christ’s victory of over Satan, sin, and death has already been won, thus the sweet taste in our mouth.
While following Jesus provides us with the sweet promise of God’s love, it doesn’t promise us a life free of suffering. Just as the scroll provides us with the sweet taste of Christ’s victory over sin and death, it also seems that our suffering is also foreshadowed in the scroll and should be an expected part of our faith journey.
The life of the apostles provides us with a clear example of the joys of living, walking, and learning from Jesus. They directly received instructions and teaching from Jesus and yet this never insulated them from suffering. They suffered when Jesus found it necessary to correct them. They suffered when they lost Jesus on the cross. They suffered in recognizing their doubts and sins. And they suffered when they were eventually martyred for Jesus’ sake. But they all suffered knowing the truth: that Jesus died for their sins, arose, and ascended to his father in heaven. I also believe that their suffering for Christ became one of their greatest joys in their life.
I just returned from a stay with my 99-year-old mother. Mom is an excellent example of someone who suffers with the aches and pains of old age and failing memory. Yet her prayers express a true appreciation for the sweetness of life and relationships with family, friends, and Jesus. This paradox has always fascinated me. What appears to me as suffering and hardship, from my perspective, is turned into beauty and joy as mom’s prayers are full of thanksgiving and praise for God’s blessings of Jesus, nature, family, friends and the life that God provides for her.
Lord, may the suffering and hardship that I endure be forever shielded by the “sweetness of the taste of your promise!”
Paul Gunn