Renewing Christian Hope: The Lord who is at hand

THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, First week of Lent

February 25, 2021: Esther 4:17 (or) 12: 14-16; 23-25; Luke 7:7-12 

The Lord is at hand, always, in all circumstances, specially in difficulties and troubles. This is the promise of the cross. Because as the letter to the Hebrews would affirm, we do not have a Master who does not understand us; we have someone who understands us and knows us, for he himself has gone through all that we are put through in life. 

A truly Christ-ian attitude in the face of difficulties and struggles would be to approach any situation with an endless hope, a limitless certainty that God is with me, whether I can feel it or not at a concrete moment, in a concrete manner. There is a certainty beyond all numbers and statistics, beyond all indications of facts and figures...and that certainty is based on the endless hope that we have in our Lord!

There have been moments in the lives of the saints when they have been through darkness and obscurity. It is in the manner that they handled such experiences that they have deserved their identity of sanctity. Today, we are growing weaker and weaker in our faith-life, that we are discouraged and grow desperate at the very first moment of our failure or trial. The increasing number of suicides and increasing multitudes of God-forsakers are only symptoms of such a deficiency.

Look at the secenario today - how many have given up their faith and how many are on the brink of it! Do we any longer believe that our God is with us, that the Lord is at hand? Our Christian faith would be meaningless without this conviction, for which Esther today stands witness and Jesus shines as an advocate - the conviction that the Lord is at hand, always, in all circumstances, especially when I am through struggles and difficulties!