Are we open to the power of God's love in our life?
People can be so stubborn. When the prophet Jeremiah tries to tell the people that good will come out of exile, they refuse to believe him, and God knows his struggle is great: They will fight against you, God says, but not prevail over you, for I am with you. God is there, present, in their midst, but God is only available to those whose hearts are open to God's work in their lives, as Jeremiah is.
Likewise, in Luke's Gospel, when Jesus, in Nazareth, suggests to the crowds gathered in the synagogue that the Messiah is in their midst, their doubts soon begin to grow. After all, they know this son of the carpenter Joseph -- and their hearts are thus closed to the presence of God before them. No prophet is accepted in his own native place: Jesus knows that he will work no miracles in their midst, for when hearts are closed, no healing is possible. Like the Corinthians, who see indistinctly, as in a mirror, looking only at themselves, refusing to recognize God's love incarnate in their presence, the people of Nazareth are unaware of the potential God has placed before them; they reject Jesus and he walks out of their lives, passing through the midst of them and going away.
Psalm 71 offers an antidote to such self-centeredness: you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. Although he has faced difficulties, the psalmist has not turned away from the Lord, has not closed his heart to God, for the Lord sustains him through his greatest challenges. We know that love never fails, after all. But we have to recognize that love -- the very power of God -- in our lives, love made manifest in our relationships with God and with other. We reach our fullest potential in Christ when we allow love to be our vision, when we are open to the opportunity truly to love one another, and to love God. It is that transforming love that we are called to; it is our openness to and sharing of that love that can bring salvation to all.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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