Pondering and Perplexed

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present the pondering of people about the nature of life and the mysteries which we encounter daily. The great question stimulated by the musings of the author in Ecclesiastes who appears caught up in the repetition of sameness in his days is “Why”? The psalmist concludes that the time of life on earth is short and without great impact on the nature of things yet he seeks the grace from God to bless the work of his hands. We encounter the “Why?” through both mundane and marvelous experience in our lives. The indwelling Spirit is still somehow aware that we are drawn to seek answers to our great questions. The attraction of the people to Jesus has Herod, in the passage from the Gospel of Luke, wondering who? and why?. Our observations of nature today, in many cases, point to deep change in the environment, in political organization and in the economic system in which many have put faith for security. The observer from Ecclesiastes looking today may not see so much predictability. Our response is to be a witness to the world as people who continue to be attracted to Jesus through whom the Way, Truth and Life point to the Why?