Ordinary Time

Pause

I close my eyes from the hurt.

I turn away from the bad.

I ignore the pleas for help.

But it remains.

How can I see the Good that comes from God, grows in God, belongs to God?

Listen

Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, planned long ago, faithful and sure. You have turned the city into rubble, the fortified town into a ruin, the fortress of foreigners into a city no more, never to be rebuilt. Therefore, strong people will glorify you; the towns of tyrant nations will fear you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in distress, a hiding place from the storm, a shade from the heat. When the breath of tyrants is like a winter storm or like heat in the desert, you subdue the roar of foreigners. Like heat shaded by a cloud, the tyrants’ song falls silent.

Isaiah 25:1-5

Think

Is there a plan for the universe? Is there a purpose to the things, good or bad, that happen? Different people will come up with different answers. This point-of-view dictates how we approach our lives and our work.

The prophet sees God’s hand at work, fulfilling a plan from “long ago, faithful and sure.” I find comfort in that. I like to see that no matter how or where evil raises its ugly head, God is bigger and better, and has a way to bring justice and peace. I like it even more that it is not the mighty who get this peace, but that the peace is a “refuge for the poor…, a hiding place from the storm…” Even when life hands us the worst, God has never stopped showing up to create the best, for our benefit out of love for us.

So when the winds blow and the flood waters rise, when the the tyrants bellow, God quietly pursues peace and health and wholeness for all of God’s children. Thanks be to God!

Rock Higgins

Pray

Lord, when I look at the world, may I do so with your eyes. May I see the good, the beautiful, and the best in all situations. May each face be your beloved Child. And in the hard times, let me see where you are already at work and show me where to join in. Amen.

Go

What we see is a choice.

How we see is a choice.

Today I can choose to commit to see the good in God’s world and to work to make the bad better.