Like the Israelites in the first reading, God has freed us from slavery to sin. He has borne us up on “eagles wings” and brought us to himself. We have been blessed to see, over the past few weeks, how God has done this, as we celebrated God pouring out his Spirit upon us in the Feast of Pentecost, his invitation to share in his own communion of love on Trinity Sunday, his provision of the spiritual nourishment which transforms us into his own likeness (Corpus Christi), and the unfathomable depths of his mercy and love which are contained in his most Sacred Heart. He assures us that, if we “hearken to [his] voice and keep [his] covenant,” we shall be his “special possession, dearer to [him] than all other people.” We shall be to him “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”
Indeed, we see the heart of Jesus displayed for us again in the gospel, in which he is “moved with pity” for the crowd, “because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” As Pope Francis describes in the Spiritual Reflection, God is very near to us. The Pope assures us: “God is not far away, but rather he is a Father. God is not distant, he is a Father, he knows you and he loves you; he wants to take you by the hand, even when you travel on steep and rugged paths, even when you fall and struggle to get up again and get back on track. He, the Lord, is there with you.”
In the second reading, St. Paul extolls the great love and mercy of God, shown to us in Christ, who died for us even while we were still sinners. By his own blood, Christ reconciled us with the Father, justified us and saved us.
What can be our response to all of God’s goodness to us? First of all, gratitude. We can make our own the grateful joy of God’s people described in the Psalm: “Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; / serve the LORD with gladness; / come before him with joyful song.” The enemy always tempts us to view God’s word to us as burdensome, and an unwelcome intrusion on our personal freedom. We need to firmly reject this lie and make a practice of thanking God for the amazing mercy and kindness he has shown us.
Secondly, we see in the gospel that, as we know the great love and mercy of God, we are called to share it with others. As the Pope tells us in the Reflection, we proclaim the kingdom of God, not saying many words, but performing deeds.
How do I express my gratitude for all of God’s goodness to me? How has the devil tempted me into thinking that God’s word is burdensome? How am I proclaiming the kingdom of God by my actions of love and compassion for those around me?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 22, no. 5. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.