Ordinary Time 
Pause
In pictures, Jesus sometimes cradles a lamb or a child. Sometimes he stands in judgment holding a book. Often we see him in agony upon a cross. Sometimes he sits on his mother’s lap looking like a tiny king.
If you were asked to draw Jesus, what would he look like?
Who do you know Jesus to be?
Listen
I put all my hope in the Lord. He leaned down to me; he listened to my cry for help. He lifted me out of the pit of death, out of the mud and filth, and set my feet on solid rock. He steadied my legs. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise for our God. Many people will learn of this and be amazed; they will trust the Lord. Those who put their trust in the Lord, who pay no attention to the proud or to those who follow lies, are truly happy!
Psalm 40:1-4
Think
We might say that Jesus is an answer. He is one of the countless ways in which God reaches into the depths of our lives to pull us out of whatever drags us down, to set us on solid ground. He is the voice of God, the eternal Word, answering our call for help. Jesus is an answer that reminds us we are never outside God’s reach. It’s not always easy to trust that, to trust that God is leaning close in Jesus, to trust that God is listening to and answering our cry for help.
But Jesus the Answer is present. Present in the friend who says I’ve got your back. Present in the parent who comforts us after a hard day. Present in a stranger who lends a helping hand. When we hear that answer, all that remains is for us to sing our song of thanks.
Phillip Fackler
Pray
Wondrous God, may I know Jesus as the answer you give, the answer to my deepest need. Help me to find steady ground whenever the world seems to be tumbling away. Help me to follow Jesus so that I too may be part of your eternal answer to the world’s needs. Amen.
Go
Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
