I hope everyone had a enjoyable 4th of July. Some people made a vacation week around the 4th of July. But a statistic made me wonder about the wisdom of my taking a vacation.
There are 365 days in the year. Take weekends off, so subtract 104 days. That leaves 261 work days. A normal work day is eight hours. We do other things 16 hours a day, So subtract 174 days per year. And the average person consumes 66 days at lunch and breaks.
Now we have 21 work days per year, minus a two-week vacation, which leaves 11 workdays. Many companies allow holidays so subtract 10. That leaves us one work day per year.
Now there’s something wrong with that math. So, I’m going to take a vacation, and I hope you do too.
The Word of God takes us back to the 6th century before Jesus. The times were a catastrophe for the Hebrews. They lost everything they thought would endure: the monarchy, Jerusalem and the temple.
Yet the Spirit of God overwhelms Ezekiel and empowers him to challenge the Israelites to be faithful to the promises made to God in the covenant, otherwise they will face God’s judgment.
There are many things God won’t ask us on judgment day:
• God won’t ask about our fashionable attire. He’ll see how many we helped to clothe, and to comfort.
• God won’t ask our job title. He’ll see if we worked with integrity.
• And God won’t note the color of our skin. He’ll note our moral character.
Yes, Ezekiel challenges us to be faithful to our baptismal promises, to live a God-like life because we are made in the image and likeness of God.
Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth alludes to a “thorn in his own flesh.” Scholars have debated for centuries about what this was.
Many well-known people overcame their handicaps and found meaning in their lives: Beethoven, with deafness. FDR, with polio. Helen Keller, with both blindness and deafness. Keller noted, "But out of this sorrowful experience I understand more clearly all human striving, thwarted ambitions, and the infinite capacity to hope."
St. Paul faced handicaps too, but says the power of God’s grace sufficed for him to surmount these. He is even grateful for this “disability.” Because Jesus is his model par excellence: powerless on the cross, Jesus burst forth all-powerful into a new heavenly reality, an indescribable life beyond death that is ours as well.
In the Gospel, the Spirit of God enters into Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth and empowers him to speak “incredible wisdom” and work “mighty deeds.” But his own townspeople refused to believe in the message of Jesus.
I would like to reflect on Jesus as “our true wisdom who guides us and brings us good news: in death, there is life. God will transform us into a new kind of spiritual embodiment just as God transformed the dead Jesus into a new kind of glorious spiritual embodiment on Easter. Yes, we shall be like God and see God as God is."
Jesus is the image of the God we cannot see, our guide, our good news and our provider.
First, Jesus gives all the guidance we need. We are “led by the Spirit of God.” We have the Spirit dwelling within us. God has bestowed the gifts of the Spirit upon us in the waters of baptism: wisdom (to recognize what truly matters), intelligence (to discern what's true), courage (to do what's right), compassion, good judgment, and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this universe). Yes, Jesus will guide us to our true destiny.
Second, Jesus provided good news in a world that desperately needs it. “Gospel” means “good news.” It is about life, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ (once crucified and now risen) lives and because he lives, we live, especially through the sacramental life of his community of disciples, the church.
The good news of Jesus is dynamically relevant to all generations, cultures and situations. People’s basic needs are always the same. The message of the gospel is always the same. And so, I invite us to let the good news animate our lives.
And finally, Jesus taught us to pray. “Give us this day our daily bread...forgive us...lead...deliver us.” He will provide all we need.
One of my favorite biblical narratives is the story of Elijah. He trusted in God's care for him. When the brook that provided water for Elijah dried up, God sent him to a widow for food. She and her son were about to eat their last meal. But Elijah promises that God will provide for her needs.
The widow did exactly as Elijah asked. And it turned out exactly so. This woman of great faith was prepared to give all she had. God supplied her needs.
My point is: If we give generously, we will discover we cannot out-give God. God does amazing things for and through us. This doesn't mean life is "easy." But God is with us in the challenges of life.
Yes, Jesus is our wisdom who guides us, brings us good news and provides for us so that we can become the best version of ourselves.
