Thursday, September 30, 2021
God in Our Midst
As I knelt at Mass today I asked for special help in a special situation. Help arrived, as it always does. Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid. Matthew 14:27 was part of today’s Morning Prayer.
There was also a citation from Zephaniah 3:16-18 and as I move through my day I cling to this petition about singing joyfully in the face of great odds because God is among us.
Today’s Noontime is a series of petitions that God rain down punishment on our enemies. But revenge is not a New Testament concept.
Charity, true charity, has come to live among us.
Charity, true charity, prays for one’s enemies.
Charity, true charity, seeks goodness rather than evil.
Charity, true charity, heals wounds with love and patience.
Charity, true charity, insists on hoping that the wicked will turn back to God.
Charity, true charity, does as my mother recommended . . . it calls people to goodness through kindness.
So when we are confronted by the enemy, we must remember that God is among us and he tells us this: Fear not, be not discouraged! The lord, your God, is in your midst. He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love. He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster from among you, so that none may recount your disgrace.
God is in our midst. Let us pray that through him we convert our anxiety to patience, our desperation to hope, our anger to love . . . so that none may recount our disgrace.
Written on October 8, 2010 and posted today as a Favorite.
Image from: http://work4christ.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/are-you-out-of-focus/
The Noontimes 