Looking to God

The image presented by the psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today captures an attitude to the Divine which is missing in our transaction and rules driven world. Our experience of the servant or the maid waiting for the sign from the master is most likely second hand. Perhaps we come from a family tradition where our willingness to serve father, mother, aunt or uncle was marked by our attention to the detail of their needs and wants. The pastoral letter of Timothy explains the conferring of authority to Timothy as Bishop through, as pointed out by Friar Jude Winkler, by the laying on of hands. This makes Timothy both overseer of the Christian community and the chief witness to the Resurrection which, like Paul, may bring suffering and imprisonment. The leader who is tuned to the mercy and Providence, like the psalmist, is the leader who will, through love, give all to the Will of God. In the passage from the Gospel of Mark,the Sadducees, identified by Friar Jude as the very conservative family of high priests, hold views, including the ownership of wives, which are rejected by Jesus. This repudiation of their tradition and theology by proclaiming the eternally Present relationship between God and people in which we are destined to love all will be the position which will  motivate the Sadducees to seek Jesus death. Standing in love when we see the Master's plan may bring the opportunity to wear the badge of honourable suffering in His name.