On the surface this Gospel account may seem like a simple story of faith: Faithful obedience in Christ’s commandments will bring us an overabundance of prosperity. While this is true in some circumstances, we should not be expecting big earthly rewards every time we are obedient. There is, in fact, an even greater lesson to be learned.
Coupled with the tears of joy that came from those who had communion for the first time since March, the first full choir we have had in months, and the wonderful socially distanced picnic we had after partaking of the Body and Blood of God…it was truly a Sunday to remember (at least for this simple village priest).
We have been dealing with a lot this past year, ranging from a worldwide pandemic, to political infighting, to other bad pieces of news that have been cropping upon a weekly basis. I would argue, that if we kept St. Paul’s 5 directives in our hearts, in our minds, and at the for-front of EVERYTHING that we do this year, we would become (and I love this word because it carries a powerful connotation with it) INVINCIBLE to the World.
“I once heard a priest give the image of a highway to describe our spiritual journey towards God. All of the moral laws and commandments that we practice as Christians are what makes up the guard rails. Fasting rules, canon laws, the “do nots” are all of the practices we put into our lives that protect us from falling off of the road and down a cliff. They are put there for a reason and are extremely important! But what happens if they become the sole purpose of our life?”
