Forgetting the works of the Lord

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary encourage reflection on our tendency to forget the work of God in our lives. The text from the Book of Hebrews uses a rabbinic technique according to Friar JudeWinkler of expanding our learning and understanding by using a familiar term in a different and deeper way. The Hebrew audience of the author knew of the rest of the Creator after 6 days in Genesis. They understood the phrase from the psalms about entering into the rest of God as arriving in the Promised Land after exile in the desert. The eternal rest with God is the extension which the author of Hebrews expresses concern that we may not attend to in the Way we live with hearts hardened toward the grace and gifts which already have come our way through intimate relationship with our indwelling Spirit and the Spirit of God. The psalmist seeks that those who hear his plea will avoid stubborn and rebellious rejection of God by losing contact with steadfast faith and a spirit in harmony with the will of God. The Gospel from Mark presents, as noted by Friar Jude, two interlocked passages using the healing literary formula of situation, appeal, healing and reaction. The deeper healing by Jesus of the heart of the paralytic by forgiving his sins brings the reaction of anger from the Pharisees. The extension of the “rest in God” to this man was apparently not noticed or appreciated by the religious authorities. Had their hardened hearts shut out previous experience of intimate communion with God? What prevented the religious men from seeing this rest enter as healing into the paralytic? The surface witness of the Presence of the Kingdom of God in the physical healing brings awe and wonder. How many of the events in our lives for which we thank God are on the surface of awe and wonder? We can probe a bit deeper for those more precious healings of spirit which brought us and will continue to bring us into His rest.