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The Just Judge

30/4/2020

A Reflection on the Second Reading for May 3rd, 2020:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

1 PETER 2

20For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Pause. Pray.

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God, the Just Judge. I love that image. The Just Judge, not simply a just judge. There is only one judge whose justice is perfect.

This way of describing God resonates in my bones. For most of my career, I have worked side-by-side with judges. I have watched them weigh evidence, assess testimony, grapple with fact and law, and struggle to mete out justice in difficult situations.

It is the duty — not only of judges and lawmakers but of every mature human being — to create and nurture justice in the world.

Despite our best efforts, however, injustice happens. When it does, we respond with a remedy — compensation for the innocent party, changes that render the wrong less likely to happen in the future — with punishment for the wrongdoer, or with both. Still, injustice leaves its mark; we are left feeling angry, vengeful, frustrated, helpless.

The second reading for Sunday delivers a hard truth: when you do right and suffer nonetheless, you must suffer patiently, for that is what God wants. And why should you do this? Because God has called you to it. Just as Christ, who was sinless, endured an unjust punishment for your sins so that you might live to righteousness, so should you follow His example when you are unjustly punished.

This teaching is very challenging for me. I’d venture to say that nearly every time I’m wronged, I mount some kind of defence. Sometimes I’m successful in that, and sometimes I’m not. In those latter cases, when I do nothing wrong and suffer anyway, I find some comfort in knowing that Christ has been there before me. We can always look to His example and pray that God will give us the strength to follow it.

Did you ever have a time in your life when someone told a lie about you? I recall a time when that happened to me. There was so little I could do about it, and I found that frustrating. All I could think was, “People who don’t know me may believe this lie. This person wants to ruin my reputation and she is getting away with it.” I felt helpless.

By the grace of God, I encountered Deuteronomy 32:4, which says the Lord is my defender. I felt quite short on defenders at the time, so I recited that phrase over and again, and eventually I found comfort in it. I allowed myself to step back from the hottest of my emotions. I began to trust that God would see me through this in the best way possible.

“Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). I am glad God is the one to judge. God’s judgment is proportional — never too much, never too little — always ideal for the situation and the people involved, always measured out with perfect love. God’s justice does what the justice of this world cannot: erase the marks and make us whole again. Only God, the Just Judge, can do this.

Donna Davis

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

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Be My Shepherd

29/4/2020

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A Reflection on the Psalm for May 3rd, 2020:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 23

R. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

R. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.

R. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup over-flows.

R. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

R. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Pause. Pray.

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At times, I can be a very stubborn sheep.

Sometimes, I think I am a sheep that can fend for itself and take all of the control into its own hands ( ...or hooves, I guess). But, as I foolishly try to lead myself through the tricky paths of life, the Lord still watches over me and will never cease to do so.

But, in order to be a good sheep, I have to trust the Lord to lead me down the path that He wills for me. And, especially now, in these confusing, lonely, and sad times, it can be really hard to have that trust that I need.

Lately, I have been struggling with what my “next move” should be. With my third year of university at an end, I am nearing the final year of my degree, with more applications for more schooling just around the corner. Most nights I lie awake thinking about the various questions I need to have answered very soon. Which masters program would be best to take before medical school? Which masters program should I be in if medical school doesn’t work out? What am I actually even interested in? What will be the most fulfilling? Yeesh, I’m getting a stress headache just writing out those questions. And now, with all the time in the world to worry, I’ve been doing a lot of that. Until recently, I hadn’t even realized that I was putting all of this unnecessary pressure on myself. Hence, the many stress headaches and sleeping troubles. I seem to forget in the most important times that God has a plan for me. He wants to lead me down a path, and I need to listen. I need to let Him be my Shepherd.

Recently, I was being prayed over via a Zoom call, after expressing my difficulties with trust and discernment during this time. What I was told during the prayer really impacted me. The lovely woman praying over me asked God that He may reveal His plan to me, even if it is only just in pieces. Even just one piece in that puzzle would be so amazing. After hearing this, it made me feel silly that I have not really thought about this before; to pray for pieces to the puzzle. Unfortunately, God will not always hand us our answers in full, all wrapped up in a clean bow, but He will never desert us. We will always be able to complete the puzzle if we remain by His side; remain listening, and remain trusting.

The Lord wants us to ask for these pieces, but we need to trust Him in order to see them. He wants to lead us down His path, one step at a time. He wants to restore us and strengthen us. He wants us to be free in knowing that our identity is in Him, and that through Him we will know our true path in His perfect will.

Let the Lord be your Shepherd.

Let us pray that even in these tough times, we will have the courage and trust to be guided by the Lord. Amen.

Megan Noye

Photo by Sam Kuhn on Unsplash

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Acceptance Through Repentance

28/4/2020

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A Reflection on the First Reading for May 3rd, 2020:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

ACTS 2

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 36Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." 37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him." 40And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." 41So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Pause. Pray.

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This is the third time I’ve tried to write this reflection.

My first attempt was weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, but prior to April 19th, 2020, where 23 people senselessly perished as a consequence of moral evil.

My second attempt was post-massacre, trying to force this reading into the solace I wanted from the heaviness of these days. But this excerpt from Acts is essentially a call to personal repentance. In the infancy of the church, Peter and the apostles boldly proclaim to the crowds that Jesus, perfect and innocent, was crucified by the people themselves. Peter’s words reveal to those listening the cruel reality of Jesus’ death, and what their wrongdoings have done to Him. The gruesome nature of the cross cuts them deeply “to the heart,” and they ask, “What shall we do?” Peter goes on to exhort them to repent of their sins and be saved.

Right now, I imagine most of us want to lay blame on anybody or anything else for the weight of darkness that has settled around us. Right now, the people and circumstances that have inflicted our pain and suffering are external and outside of our control.

Grappling with this word, I decided to go for a walk outside and I asked the Spirit to speak.

“The sins of one cannot be separated from the whole of humanity,” I heard.

A fierce wind blew powerfully through the trees. I was drawn to the Divine Mercy chaplet. Upon recitation, it began to hail. The sky wept hard, icy tears, as if from a heart frozen with grief.

Like the people in the early church listening to Peter’s words, my heart cried, “What shall I do?” These events are not fixable. They are completely irreconcilable, as is this “cut to the heart.”

While I may not be personally responsible for the heinous acts of my brethren, or for the spread of an invisible sickness, accepting Act’s call to repentance means I need to accept that humanity as a whole needs a Saviour. Nothing other than Jesus Christ, through His victimhood of merciless violence, can reconcile within us these days of isolation, terror, and loss.

Let us pray:

Lord, have mercy on us and on the whole world. I accept You as Saviour and I repent on behalf of our fractured humanity. May You heal and reconcile all our sufferings with Your Cross from now until the end of time.

Michelynne Gomez

Photo by Edoardo Cuoghi on Unsplash

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Rest Assured

24/4/2020

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A Reflection on the Gospel for April 26th, 2020:
Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24.13-35

On the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about eleven kilometres from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”

He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of Angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the Scriptures to us?”

That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. These were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Pause. Pray.

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"They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind".
(Sermon 235.1, Saint Augustine of Hippo)

Have you been disturbed lately? So disturbed that you have “forgotten His teaching”? The last few months have been disturbing indeed. The entire world has been disturbed, to say the least. Our lives, our livelihoods, our daily routines, our sleep, our eating habits, most things in most people's lives have been disturbed.

Saint Augustine of Hippo describes the Disciples in this gospel passage as “disturbed”. He says that they were so disturbed, “they forgot His teaching”. So what was the teaching that they forgot?

Jesus taught many things throughout the three years of His active ministry but in His own words, this is was He says about His mission:

“I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.” (John 18:37)

The truth today is the same as it was three months ago, and three years ago, and three centuries ago — and from the beginning of time.

“For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

We have a God who loves us, and no matter how disturbed we are feeling, we can rest assured in this truth. This is the time to take sides. We can either take the side of Truth and believe that God has a plan and a purpose for this time in history or we can take the side of the lie that tells us that we are at the mercy of the world and nothing good can come from this. But remember friends, no matter which side we choose, the Truth will prevail!

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, may Your love permeate every part of our lives so that we can rest in the truth that You will use this time for good. Amen.

Maxine Brown