Where Is God?

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, October 29th, 2023:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Exodus
22.21-27

Thus says the Lord: “You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.

“If you lend money to my people, to the poor one among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbour’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it to that person before the sun goes down; for it may be their only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if that person cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Our Catholic faith has a wonderful, beautiful, strange paradox: God has a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable. God loves us all equally, no matter who we are, and yet He has a special place in His heart for those who are struggling. He has a special ear for those crying out in the midst of suffering. 

I love the way this passage opens: “Thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.’” The Israelites were once immigrants, slaves, seen as less than human. Then God heard their cries and bought them their freedom. But as soon as they are freed, God establishes a new law, a new set of rules to create order and keep the peace in their new land. One of the key laws from God includes a reminder: don’t forget where you came from. Don’t become the kind of people you needed My help to escape from. 

I’m not surprised by this; I’ve needed the reminder myself. When I was younger, I often experienced bullying and violence at school. I was not, however, the least popular kid in school – there were a handful of others even further down than I. You’d think, given the bullying I experienced, that I would reach out to them, make friends, and understand their plight. Instead, I maintained my place of second-last by occasionally being cruel in turn. I knew exactly how much it must have hurt, but my broken human nature meant I went along with the crowd and put them down instead of standing up against others doing wrong. 

Herein lies the beautiful paradox of our faith – God is with us when we are downtrodden, even when being downtrodden turns us into the worst version of ourselves. When we are hurt and lash out from that hurt, He is with our victims as well. 

It is normal, in times of grief and struggle, to wonder: where is God? Is He up in heaven, not noticing how much we are suffering? Is He aware of our pain but allowing it for reasons that only make sense to a divine being? Is He allowing or even causing it to happen, because we deserve it for some past sin? The Catholic answer is: He is with us. He cries when we cry. He grieves when we grieve. He hurts when we hurt. The Cross has proved that God is not far away, and He is not a judge who sits apart, ruling for or against us. When things are hardest, He is closest. 

As I write this, reports of horrifying atrocities from Jesus’ homeland are pouring in. Many of my friends and loved ones are taking sides, picking camps, trying to understand how so much evil could unfold. This reading was a powerful reminder for me that God is with everyone who suffers – even those who hurt others because of their own suffering. He is with them, and their victims. Our God is closer than we dare to think, and waits for us to let Him in.




Jenna Young

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