Seeking Help

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are a reminder of the tension that people experience between doing and wanting things to go “my way” and seeking help, even Divine help when situations appear to be beyond our understanding and control. How does this tension impact our relationship with the Divine? The ancient evidence like that in the story of Ester is that God hears the cry of people in dire situations. The praise proclaimed by the psalmist today are reminiscent of the well known Psalm 23 in which intimate experience of the nature of God boosts the faith of people that the “right hand of God delivers me’. The less omnipotent image of our relationship with the Divine expressed in Matthew’s Gospel is of the parent who knows what the child needs. The parent and child dialogue about wants and needs. The choice of the child is preserved to provide evidence and support for the good decisions and choices. The consequence of the poor decisions also needs to be understood. The Divine relationship like the parental one is marked by close watching and constant vigilance. The Parent sees the turn to Home while the child is ‘still a long way off”.