Daily reflection _ God's power is clearly at work


GOD'S POWER IS CLEARLY AT WORK
"You have the Lord for your refuge; you have made the Most High your stronghold. No evil shall befall you, no affliction come near your tent. For God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways."
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Do we resist the temptations that lead us to sin, and do we turn to God for help with His spiritual protection when we are tempted to do wrong things in our life? Jesus assures us of His protection from spiritual harm. Psalm 91:9-11 states, "You have the Lord for your refuge; you have made the Most High your stronghold. No evil shall befall you, no affliction come near your tent. For God commands the angels to guard you in all your ways."
Jesus' numerous healings bring freedom to many who are troubled and oppressed. Jesus Himself encounters personal opposition and battle with Satan when He was put to the test in the wilderness just before His public ministry. Jesus asserts that no kingdom divided against itself can survive for long (cf. Mk 3:24). We have witnessed enough civil wars in our own time to prove the destructive force at work here for the annihilation of whole peoples and their land. We hear this in the Gospel, today. How can a strong person be defeated except by someone who is stronger?
Fighting against each other is truly not a win/win situation. Jesus asserts His love, power, and authority to cast out the evil as a clear demonstration of the reign of God. Jesus' reference to the finger of God points back to Moses' confrontation with Pharoah and his magicians who represented the kingdom of darkness and empty promises. Jesus claims to be carrying on the tradition of Moses, whose miracles freed the Israelites from bondage by the finger of God. God's power is clearly at work in the miracles Jesus performs and gives evidence that His Kingdom has come.
The most famous image of the finger of God can be found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. There, God's finger reaches out to touch Adam with life. God's hand touches us also, breathing the life of the Holy Spirit into us. In today's Gospel Acclamation we hear, "'I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to Myself,' says the Lord." God, our Creator, has given us life, family, friends, and above all, this gift of Himself! We are made by one loving and caring God who we call "Father." God has touched us from the beginning of time and He continues to touch us every day. We are one Christian family; we are connected. Our Father wants us to love Him and share that love with each other.
True harmony, unity, brings things together. I read a bumper sticker yesterday that said, "If you want to know peace work for justice." There's a lot of truth in that. I feel so bad at times for people who really have to struggle to find joy and peace in their life. Their life and the world they live in, seems to be more bad than good. They have so much anger in them that they lose themselves and drive away the people that want to be close and assist them. May they fill the void in their lives with God's love; to know that God is there in the bad times as well as the good. We need to always show love and concern for them just as God does - with His arms wide open. Let us pray that they will feel God's touch.
The point of today's Gospel is that we must fill any void in our lives with God, who is the source of all that is good and upright. St. Augustine said that "our lives have a God-shaped void, which only God can fill satisfactorily." If we attempt to leave it vacant or to fill it with something else, we will not know true peace, love and joy. The finger of God reaches out through time to touch the whole Church with God's life. That same Spirit breathes God's life in us so that we can praise Him with all our heart.
October is the month dedicated to the holy rosary. The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pope Pius XII called it a "compendium of the Gospel." At its heart, the rosary is a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety.
Let us feel the touch!