OUR ANCHOR IS GOD'S LOVE
"This we
have as an anchor we have in our spirit, sure and firm, which reaches into the
interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as
forerunner" (Heb 6:19 - 20).
In the Letter to
the Hebrews it tells us that we can have every reason to trust and hope in God
and all His promises. To be in the central place as Christ Jesus' disciples, we
need to continually stress hope throughout our journey. Hope is not simply like
an anchor that is thrown into the sea; instead, hope is like an anchor thrown
ahead of and beyond us into heaven. "This we have as an anchor we have in
our spirit, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil,
where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner" (Heb 6:19 - 20).
The hope sustaining
us amid the uncertainties, difficulties, and sufferings of the present time is
anchored in heaven where Jesus has preceded us and where He prepares a place
for us. Our hope flows from the sharing of our lives in the suffering, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We trust that if we have suffered and died
with Him, we shall rise with Him. Here and now this means that in our prayer
and even through our tears we look beyond what our eyes can see and our senses
feel to the One Who has overcome all this, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Today in the
Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, "The Lord will remember His Covenant for
ever" (Ps 111:5). In Jesus Christ we are delivered! With the "eyes of
our hearts" we do not pray alone. We pray as His children, we receive His
grace to live and work together with our brothers and sisters, all for the
coming of His Kingdom upon each of us.
In Mark's Gospel we
read about observing the Sabbath. Is the Sabbath day a burden and a chore? Or
is it intended to refresh, renew, and support our lives? Jesus points out, in
other circumstances, the fact that exceptions to Sabbath observances can be
made when the needs and lives of animals are at stake. So why not make
exceptions when the needs and lives of people created in our heavenly Father's
Image are at stake? When, Jesus says, "The Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath," He is telling us that this commandment, and all commandments,
must be understood in light of life. The Sabbath, like God Himself, is a gift
to renew, refresh, and support our humanity, and to build up the Body of
Christ.
On this day
following the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade (1973),
all dioceses of the United States observe this as a Day of Prayer for the legal
Protection of the Unborn Children. Please take some time in prayer giving
thanks to God for the gift of human life, and if you can, go to Mass!
We are His children after all!