Hide and Seek

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, October 27th, 2024:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Jeremiah
31.7-9​

​Thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.’

“See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them those who are blind and those who are lame, those with child and those in labour, together; a great company, they shall return here.

“With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

My family’s traditional Easter egg hunt has a twist – most of the eggs are filled with chocolates, but one or two contain cold hard cash. My dad takes particular pride in finding a sneaky hiding spot for the money egg. Past hiding spots include inside the fridge in a carton of eggs, in his own pocket, and in the dirt of a potted plant. We’re a big family, and the hunting for money eggs gets intense. The winners often brag about their success all day. The First Reading for this Sunday got me thinking about Easter but also about all the things we hunt for. It’s easy to go egg-hunting when money is on the line, but what else do I go out of my way to seek? I seek to be successful at work. I try to spend more time with friends. I make sacrifices in our family budget now so that we can go on fun vacations later. What we seek tells us something about ourselves, about our priorities and our values. 

The same is true of God.

In this reading from Jeremiah, we see Him with a single-minded focus: God is seeking us. Take a moment and really let that sink in. The Creator of the universe, the Lord of time, the only one who can count all the grains of sand on the earth and all the stars in the sky, the all-powerful and all-knowing reigning King of Kings – the most important thing He’s seeking is you. We are all God-created, God-made. He could ask us for anything – money, time, animal sacrifice, obedience – and we’d owe it to Him, because we owe our entire selves to Him. But what He wants most is simply to know and to love us, to comfort and console us, and to be with us. 
 
Being reminded of this glorious truth – that the God of all created things wants me, personally – is also a good reminder to check my own priorities. God doesn’t demand this of me, but once I realize just how much He loves me, I feel a call to reorient my own heart toward Him too, not because I have to but because I want to! I seek His comfort and His peace, but I also desire to draw closer to Him because this helps turn me into a version of myself I like much better. When I make God’s priorities my priorities, I’m gentler, more patient, more loving. Today, take a moment to let God lead you back. He’ll be so happy to hear from you.



Jenna Young

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