Second Sunday of Lent 2021 in the Year of St. Joseph
Sorry I missed posting on Friday. I was finishing up a talk I was giving on St. Joseph at a parish day of renewal. My premise for the presentation was that Joseph and Mary developed a faith and trust in a God who could do the POSSIBLE even in the midst of situations and circumstances that seem impossible. Hold on to that. Cling to it like an anchor when the boat of life is rocking. Storms pass. Earthquakes come and have aftershocks, but the ground settles. Fires become smoldering ash…and from the ash a sapling will rise. Do you remember when Mt. St. Helen’s erupted and blew half a mountainside into the sky? Hillsides cascaded down the mountain snapping trees like matchsticks. Roadways were washed away or impassible from boulders larger than semi-trucks. But, the Spring came, and the desolate hillside and vale began to see life emerge.
Here is a truth that will level the spiritual playing field. Joseph and Mary were made of flesh and blood, bones and veins…just like you and me. Just as they were called by God in a very particular time and place to obediently follow the call of God to their mysterious mission, so are we. Did they know everything that would unfold in the time they had with Jesus? Did Joseph know that his son would be sacrificed…unlike Isaac, Jesus would not be spared. Did Mary know every step that would lead to Calvary? I don’t think so. But what they did know was a call. A call to obedience…holy listening to the prompting of God in their lives.
So too you and me. No matter what is going on right now…in your life, in the life of someone you love or know, remember it is temporary…hold on to the anchor…Christ Jesus. Give him yourself in the quiet this Lent to hear his voice and respond to his call.
St. Joseph, pray for us.