"The Slow Drip": A Reflection on the First Reading for September 16th, 2018: Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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​ISAIAH 50:5-9A

​The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

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The world is poking holes in me. I have allowed insecurities and frustration to creep in and steal my peace—my joy. How do I remain protected and true to my “right” in the face of negativity, strife, suffering, loss, ungodliness?

I had an image in prayer this past weekend. I felt the sensation of being hollowed out—as though all that was within me was being pushed aside. Only a dark, empty receptacle remained. Then I saw walls being drawn up—as a potter draws up the clay on his pottery wheel. It seems to me that this is how God responds with His protection when we allow room within us for His blessed assurance to dwell. He responds with a secure barrier of impenetrable love when we empty ourselves of the clutter that builds up within us as we encounter the injustices of this world. Each duel we engage in—clanking swords with the circumstances that contest the fabric of our morality—pokes holes in the wall of protection God has constructed. And all His Good, once safely contained within us, begins to slowly drip out.

This reading from Isaiah brings to mind Mother Theresa’s courageous faith in the face of persecution and wrongdoing—substantiated by the charitable manner in which she lived her life, despite the many obstacles placed on her path.
    
One day, the soon-to-be-saint went to a local bakery asking for bread for the starving children at the orphanage. The baker, disgusted by beggars and enraged by her request, spat in her face. Mother Teresa calmly took out her handkerchief, wiped the spit from her face and said, “Okay, that was for me. Now what about the bread for the orphans?” The baker gave her the bread she wanted.1

Isaiah, too, stands firm in the face of wrongdoing. He does not turn away from those who insult him—nor does he retaliate. He looks into them through the eyes of God, seeing their brokenness, and maybe even forgiving them “for they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34) It is by God’s strength that he can do this. It is in the knowledge of the words he has heard from his Good Father, that he can draw courage from his “right”—the Good within him.

This is what propels us forward when the world pokes holes in us. Listening for, and acting upon the guidance provided to us by God Himself. To listen is to have our ears opened. And the opening does not end with our ears—God can use our silence to open our hearts and our minds to the graces He desperately desires to pour in. The Good Potter will then mend our holes and send us forth in peace.

Lori MacDonald


1. Mary Kathryn Lee, Mother Teresa Scholar Class of 2016 http://www.motherteresaproject.org/tag/mother-teresa/

"God can use our silence to open our hearts and our minds to the graces He desperately desires to pour in." - Lori MacDonald (Ora Reflections)

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