Reflection: Thursday, November 15, 2007

Breviary (Office of the Hours) readers are currently reading a 2nd century homily as part of the Office of Readings. The writer is calling the hearers to reflect upon non-believers the life of the believer has. His homily called attention to what we might say as "saying one thing and doing another." Apparently those outside the Church marveled at the beauty of the words and hymns that would come from the lips of those who were seeking to follow Jesus.
But there were those whose lives were seemingly different. Their lives were a "scandal" to those who wanted to know more about Jesus.

Some 19 centuries later we can ask is it any different? Do we proclaim our faith when it is convenient? Do we try parsing the Word of God and the teachings of our Church so that we can finesse what seems to be something that interferes with the faith values we publicly proclaim?

We might say that our advances in knowledge since the 2nd century may well have brought us to a more regular and frequent awareness that we must chose the will of God without parsing it if we want to be a part of his Church.

We can make choices each day --- choices for good rather than evil. When the sailing gets rough, the 44th Psalm, used in the Office of Readings as well today, reminds us the alone we may fail but that God is always present to strengthen us in our choosing.