DO YOU TRUST JESUS?
Blessed 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time to you. Today, we are posed this question: Do you trust in Jesus? Or do you trust in something or someone else? Perhaps your capabilities, intelligence, wealth, status, achievements, connections, the media, celebrities etc? Whatever choice we make on who or on what we trust in leads us ultimately to either a wasteland that is parched, desolate, stunted, with no growth & quite dead; or to a verdant, fertile, fruitful, thriving & safe space. Let’s hear what this week’s Scriptures have to say about this.
Our 1st Reading from Jeremiah 17:5-8 sets before our eyes the 2 contrasting choices & outcomes. The 1st is choosing to rely on human ingenuity & strength with scarcely a thought for the Lord, who is the source of all strength, wisdom, creativity & achievement. Whoever does so will be consigned to the wilderness. But the better choice is trusting in the Lord, hoping & relying on God. I love how Jeremiah describes such a person – “a tree by the waterside, whose roots are thrust deep into a stream, that doesn’t fear heat not drought, that continues to have green foliage all year round & always produces fruit” (cf Jeremiah 17:7-8)
This theme is repeated in our Responsorial Psalm today (Psalm 1), that again highlights the good things for the ones who follows the path of the Lord & trust in Him wholeheartedly.
In our Gospel today from Luke 6:17,20-26, Jesus speaks about the Matthean Beatitudes (cf Matthew 5:1-12), but from a Lucan perspective – “happy are you who are poor, … who are hungry now, … who weep now, … when people hate you, … for your reward will be great in heaven”. Luke here goes further to give the stark contrast of the great outcomes of the “Happy” to the pain of the “Alas”.
So, what’s our response today to the readings? It admittedly seems challenging for many of us to trust in the Lord & live out the Beatitudes, when we are so conditioned to be self-reliant, use our own intellect, reasoning & resourcefulness to make decisions & be the ‘captain of our own fate’. Conventional wisdom also tells us don’t be poor but strive for wealth, don’t be meek or you’ll be seen as a wimp & be trampled on, don’t weep as you’ll be deemed weak & emotional, don’t be merciful but exact revenge & payback on those who harm you etc.
Yet the call of the Word of God today is so clear. How should we approach this? I suggest that it involves a continuous act of surrender of our will in a spirit of humility & trust – like Mother Mary’s ‘Fiat to ‘let it be done to me according to your Word” (cf Luke 1:38) & Jesus’ total obedience to God’s will in His saying ‘Not my will, but your will be done’ (Matthew 26:39,42).
To do this, we need the grace & help of the Holy Spirit to choose our path wisely. See how Moses urged the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30:19-20: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days …”
We also need to set our sights on the longer term. So instead of focussing on immediate gains & gratification in making our life’s choices, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to direct us toward the decision that is life-giving, that leads us to God.
Can we stay firm in our commitment to place our trust in the Lord? Are we willing to sink our roots deep into the river of life & let Jesus nourish & sustain us? When the heat is on, fear is at an all-time high & we find we have no strength to carry on, can we be like the tree planted by the waterside that stands tall? Can we, in spite of the weakness & distress we are facing, stay cheerful, hopeful & optimistic, & allow the Lord to make us bear good fruit of love, peace, patience, kindness, care & compassion for the benefit of others?
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead