32 Tuesday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 2:23-3:9; Luke 17:7-10
“God formed man to be imperishable; in his own image he made them” (Wis. 2:23). As I was pondering this line, I couldn’t help thinking about the 26 people who were killed in that small Texas church; and the 58 people who were killed in Las Vegas; and the four missionaries who were killed in El Salvador (1980). How do you balance the statement that God made human beings to be imperishable so as to reflect His grandeur with the historical facts that a house of prayer was turned into a house of death; that a celebration of beauty and music was transformed into an event of terror and that four dedicated servants of God’s love and mercy were brutally murdered? We are left with the age-old question: Why do good people suffer?
Having been made in the image of God, we take delight in all that God takes delight in. Similarly, we endure the evil that happens in the world, comforted by the knowledge that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God” (Wis. 3:1). In the face of all the evils in the world, we have Jesus’ words to sustain us. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). If we restrict our gaze to the world, we will find ourselves perplexed and anxious. If, however, we turn our gaze to Christ we will find salvation for our souls and peace for our hearts. It is in this line of thought that the Psalmist reminds us to “taste and see God’s goodness.” We are to take notice of it, and find comfort in it. Through the power of His resurrection, Christ has made all things new and makes everyone truly blessed who trusts in him.
The Only-begotten Son of the Holy One of Israel made Himself our servant. Because of His love for us, He prepared a banquet for those who have born the heat of the day. In our times of distress, He is our companion and comforter. By the will of the Father and the working of the Holy Spirit, Christ is our Rock and our salvation. Because He is our fortress we have the assurance that we will never be shaken” (CF. Ps. 62:2). Through the Sacrament of the Altar, He has become the Food for our journey. May we always honor God knowing that He holds us in the palm of His hand.
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