Ordinary Time 
Pause
“God fills every part of space with all of [God’s] Being.”
– Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 1949
Listen
Lord, you have examined me. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways. There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord, that you don’t already know completely. You surround me—front and back. You put your hand on me. That kind of knowledge is too much for me; it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.
Psalm 139:1-6
Think
Today’s lesson brings us closer to an amazing truth: God knows me better than I know myself. The psalmist uses several synonyms so that there is no doubt: God knows everything and examines me. For some people, that idea can be filled with many fears, for we don’t want others to know our innermost secrets.
That fear is unfounded because we have to add the ingredients of love and grace. What God knows about my life is mixed with God’s deep love, and this is the best news. When the psalmist acknowledges that “you have laid your hand on me,” I am reminded that, despite knowing everything about me, God protects me and loves me just as I am. God’s love is authentic, is everywhere, and has no intention of departing from our lives.
Richard Rojas Banuchi
Question to Ponder:
What aspects of my life do I need to know and accept in the same way that God knows and loves?
Pray
God, help me to understand the depth and breadth of your love for me. Increase that love in my life, so that I may share it with others. Amen.
Go
Recognizing that God has been present helps us live grateful lives.
