Ordinary Time 
Pause
“God fills every part of space with all of [God’s] Being.”
– Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 1949
Listen
Where could I go to get away from your spirit? Where could I go to escape your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there. If I went down to the grave, you would be there too! If I could fly on the wings of dawn, stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—even there your hand would guide me; even there your strong hand would hold me tight! If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me; the light will become night around me,” even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you! Nighttime would shine bright as day, because darkness is the same as light to you!
Psalm 139:7-12
Think
Have you ever thought about running away? Faced with things that produce fear, we usually react in three ways: we freeze, we fight, or we flee. In today’s reading, the psalmist acknowledges that running away is a great temptation. But this never makes sense when we run away from God’s purpose. In the scriptures, there are several stories of people who ran away. But many of them end up accepting God’s plan.
To run away means “to put distance.” And sometimes we need space to see things from another angle. But when it is God who calls and invites, we will discover what the psalmist says: “you are also there.” That includes those moments that we feel are complicated and difficult. God loves us and will be present in everything, even what we want to run away from. Trust because, whatever happens, God will also be there.
Richard Rojas Banuchi
Question to Ponder:
At what unexpected time and place have you seen God?
Pray
God, give me calm in the moments when I want to run away and face life alone. I want to learn to trust that you are by my side wherever I go. Amen.
Go
Recognizing that God has been present helps us live grateful lives.
