Faith in God’s love, compassion, and constant, kindly presence empowers me to comfort those who are frightened, ill, lost, homeless, hungry, at risk, angry, depressed, or in mourning.
Comfort calms and renews hope. It is a gift that heals.
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Isaiah 40:1
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
Christ Resurrected
Oil on canvas, 1661
Munich, Alte Pinakothek
Like Mary, I am going in search of Jesus. The path is sometimes dark with pain and sorrow, uncertainty and discouragement, suffering and anxiety. What I bring with me—hope, love, faith, compassion, kindness, respect, forgiveness, peace—is what I am searching for. I follow the way, even in darkness, to find the Way.
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. John 20:1
Ottheinrich-Bibel, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Blatt 55v: Heilung des Taubstummen, Mk 7,31-37
ca.1425-1430
Jesus touches my ears and I hear the cries of those who are grieving, discouraged, abused, abandoned, ignored, scorned, in need of shelter, love, and comfort.
Jesus touches my tongue and I speak out plainly in support of those who need hope, justice, faith, peace, encouragement, and compassion.
Jesus is not afraid to touch those in need.
Am I?
[Jesus] put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. Mark 7:33-35
James Tissot (1836-1902)
Jésus enseigne le peuple près de la mer
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum
Our need for signs from the Lord speaks of our very human desire to be reassured that God is near and paying attention to us—that God cares. It speaks of our need to be fed with the bread of hope, of compassion, of unconditional love. It speaks of our thirst for conscious contact with the Lord.
Does God care? A wise friend told me: “Of course. That’s why Jesus came here.”
So [the crowd] said to Jesus, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” John 6:30-31
![By Frank S De Hass, [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabor_1887.jpg)
By Frank S De Hass, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
It isn’t exactly hope that keeps me following the Lord up this mountain. It’s more an unwillingness—today—to give up. I’m doing my best to make this climb an opportunity to practice patience and compassion and to put my trust in Jesus.
Maybe it is hope. I keep climbing in the hope of being led to a place of transfiguration, a place of perfect peace, acceptance, and wholeness.
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. Mark 9:2
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
The Good Samaritan, ca.1655-1660
pen and brown ink and white paint on paper
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
via Wikimedia Commons
[Jesus] said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
Matthew 22:21
As I move through today, let me repay to God forgiveness. I will make a conscious effort to let go of resentment and hard feelings, and to accept others as they are without wishing them to be different.
Let me repay to God healing. I will make a conscious effort to speak and act respectfully, to offer encouragement to others, and to admit when I am wrong.
Let me repay to God generosity. I will make a conscious effort to help someone in material, physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual need.
Let me repay to God nonviolence. I will make a conscious effort to choose peace over conflict, deep within my being and in all my interactions with others.
Let me repay to God compassion. I will make a conscious effort to offer my prayers and support to those who are suffering from the effects of war and life-threatening illness.
Let me repay to God love. I will make a conscious effort to live without fear, to refuse to be a victim, to reject self-pity, to welcome all people as my sisters and brothers in God, and to bring the hope of God’s vision of unconditional, all-encompassing love wherever I go.
Matthew 16:21-27
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
[Jesus] turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:23
When my thoughts flurry and squall, I hope God thinks calmly, without hurry, in an orderly and harmonious fashion.
When my thoughts descend into despair about the heartaches and violence in our world, I hope God thinks healing into the grief and peace into the unrest.
When my thoughts dwell on what’s wrong with me, I hope God thinks I’m loveable and precious and right where I’m supposed to be.
Mary Ann McSweeny 