God has come to the camp - let nothing perturb you!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 1st week in Ordinary time

January 13, 2022: 1 Samuel 4: 1-11; Mark 1: 40-45

God has come to the camp; this has never happened before! - it is an interesting exclamation from the Philistines that the first reading notes! It reminds us of the great feast that we have just celebrated - that of the incarnational event! God has come to the camp, to our camp, as one of us, as someone who shares our state of life! This is something unheard of, illogical and out of the ordinary or the normalcy. That is the love of God - so illogical, unheard of and incredibly in favour of us. 

When we believe in that love, so boundless and out of the ordinary, we would not dare ask the Lord for favours. We would only tell the Lord, with all our heart, 'do what you wish!' And what the Lord wishes will be for our good, and nothing other than that. The person with leprosy whom we meet today in the Gospel, knew this somehow. He made a prayer so exceptional: if it is your wish! And immediately Jesus replies, 'I wish! Be cured!' That is the love of God - wishing always the best for us.

We need to really grow in our understanding of this love, get more to experience it. The Lord is in our camp! The Lord is right beside us, close to us, and always surrounding us with God's love. Why should we panic for anything at all... the Lord shall fight on our behalf; the Lord shall take care of everything that bothers us; the Lord shall protect us and guide us right where we are destined to be and we shall always be saved! 

The Lord is in our camp, we have nothing to be afraid of! Let nothing perturb you!