THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday, Fourth week
March 16, 2024 - Jeremiah 11:18-20; John 7: 40-52
Through the desert God leads us to freedom. The freedom or the state of salvation that the Lord leads us to, does not come from nowhere or we do not reach it without passing through the desert. But that does not warrant our being sad or gloomy, or grieving all our life. A sad Christian is a sorry Christian - that is the message we had yesterday. The Word has been insisting with us through out this week the need for us to rejoice, and especially yesterday, we reflected on how important it is to rejoice even in the face of trials.
The Word today gives us the secret of those who succeed in rejoicing even when they are through trials and torments... they have taken refuge in the Lord. We are called to be glad, not just in our experiences and accomplishments, not even in our troubles overcome or temptations won over, but in a reason much more fundamental: in the Lord, in the very presence of the Lord. For the Lord is our shield and our strength, our protection and our refuge.
Jeremiah in the first reading tells us how without knowing the treachery around, a person who believes in the Lord, could suffer torments. But the person knows he or she need not lose heart, for the Lord is there with him or her. The person knows readily to take refuge in the Lord and that is a typical trait of a child of God.
Jesus in the Gospel, is a level ahead - it is not that a person does not know what treachery is going around, but even knowing it very well, he or she is able to go ahead with serenity and calm. John very specially, in his Gospel, often emphasizes the fact that Jesus knew who would betray him, Jesus knew the heart of the people to whom he was speaking, he knew that they cannot be trusted and so on. Jesus knew the manoeuvrings arond him, but nothing disturbed him. He went about secure of his steps, because he had taken refuge in his Father.
At times, when difficulties and troubles, conniving persons and conspiracies around, destabilise us, apart from appealing to the Lord, we need to think why they are perturbing us so much. Have we truly surrendered to the Lord? Even in these circumstances, if we have taken the Lord as our shield and our refuge, we shall not fail to rejoice!