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Consolation in Christ

This Sunday’s reading should reassure us of God’s love and bring us peace. When Jesus tells us that we are worth more to Him than many sparrows, this is clearly a drastic understatement. What the Lord tells us by His action is that we are worth more to Him than His own life. What is a sparrow in comparison to the lifeblood and living flesh of the powerful Creator of the entire cosmos?

Like the Prophet Jeremiah in the first reading, we frequently find ourselves in the midst of persecution. We may not have “terror on every side,” but we do have the family members who misunderstand us, a spouse who doesn’t seem to love in the way that we can feel it, the colleagues who grate on our nerves, acquaintances on the other side of the religious fence who love to argue, and children who have left the faith. Each of us is dealing with something or someone.

These are all situations that distress and occupy our thoughts, our emotions, and our energies. And God knows this. And He permits these difficulties so that we, in our helplessness, might turn to Him. Find our consolation in Him. And be reassured and carried along in Him, in peace and the knowledge that everything and everyone is in God’s hands. In the moments when we feel tired and helpless, frustrated and angry, or any one of the spectrum of emotions that makes us realize our weakness, let us turn to Jesus Christ and look to Him and His Love for consolation.

Let us offer up our suffering and rest in the peace of the knowledge that we are worth more to God than many sparrows: we are worth the price of the life of His Only Begotten Son, Who holds us and the entire cosmos in His loving hands.

Yours in Christ,
Father Arthur

Readings for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Lectionary 94