A Reflection for March
20, 2020 – Come Back:
In today’s readings there are two very important areas of
Scripture that I feel, during this time; we need to pay close attention
to. In the first reading of Hosea, the
Word tells us “They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow wheat
again, they will make the vine flourish, their wine will be as famous as
Lebanon’s. What has Ephraim to do with
idols any more when I hear him and watch over him? I am like an evergreen cypress; you owe your fruitfulness
to me.” In saying this, God is
suggesting that although He allowed a period of time when the people were/are
self-serving, there will be the opportunity for them/us to refocus our eyes
back on the One True God.
Likewise, in today’s Gospel of Mark, Jesus instructs the
scribe that “you must love the Lord your God with all our heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind and with all your strength..” When the scribe recognized this to be true he
told Jesus that His answer was good and that His instructions were more
important than any burnt offering. With
that Jesus, seeing that the man was honest, told the man “you are not far from
the kingdom of God.”
The truth is, because God is ever present, we are never far
from the kingdom of God should we choose to be close to Him. However, there is the problem for the
overwhelming majority….choice. Working
in reverse, the Gospel suggests that even during this time of panic over the
COVID-19 virus which has been forcing world-wide closures and shutdowns of
schools, organizations, cities and boarders, we are still close to the kingdom
of God so long as we continue to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind,
and strength. This means we must trust
in Him! Don’t trust in CNN, Fox News,
ABC World News Tonight, WSIL, KVS12, and so on.
Believe in the power of prayer, don’t fall to anxiety. Consider your sources, be intelligent, and
take your concerns to God. Yes, this is
the foundation to health physically, emotionally and spiritually. However, it is a choice.
In addition to this, and retreating back to the first
reading today from Hosea, if you have made the choice to panic, to become
overwhelmed by the things of the world which are outside of your control, if
you have placed your faith in some news channel, some political candidate, some
social media platform, God reminds you that you can “come back…and flourish.” He “hears” and “watches over” you, and He
always will. During this time, don’t lose
sight of that.
Perhaps this is the time when, due to being forced to be at
home with our families, cancellation of sports and social gatherings, we are
reminded of the things that are truly important in our lives! We are reminded that God needs to be at our
center and not all the other distractions which the world offers us. Now is the time to remember that God hears
and watches over us, and that we need to make the choice to come back to Him
fully and flourish.
Mr. Swann-Principal
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School