Strength for those who trust

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invoke images of strength against struggle and the trust that our Rock will continue to be present with us as we continue to rise above the disasters connected to decisions not to follow Him.

Near the Narrows 

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes the justice for the lowly and downtrodden that will realized in the city restored by God.

* [26:1–19] This text is a mixture of praise for the salvation that will take place, a confession of Judah’s inability to achieve deliverance on its own, and earnest prayer that God may quickly bring about the longed-for salvation.

In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus exhorts us to build on the strength of doing the Gospel rather than just listening to it.

* [7:24–27] The conclusion of the discourse (cf. Lk 6:47–49). Here the relation is not between saying and doing as in Mt 7:15–23 but between hearing and doing, and the words of Jesus are applied to every Christian (everyone who listens).

Tom Purcell explores “Foundations” as a word with many meanings in many contexts as he looks to how we might inspect our supporting ethics.

People have foundations also.  Our family, our heritage, our culture, our faith traditions, our personal histories, all serve as the foundation for who we are and upon which we continue to build every day of our lives.  Just as building engineers must constantly inspect the foundations of buildings to find structural issues, we must continually examine our foundations to discern if faults and flaws have appeared that must be addressed to prevent even more serious future issues.  
Jesus reminds us that we must listen and then act on His words.  By prayerfully contemplating His words, we better understand God’s call to us.  By acting on His words, we strengthen our foundation by deepening our personal commitment to His message of creating the kingdom of God on earth.  By regularly examining our personal and organizational and other foundations, we can find those areas where we must make changes so our life-structures are stronger and more clearly focused on God’s call.

Don Schwager declares that Christ is the only rock that can save us, as he asks what can keep us from falsehood and spiritual disaster? He asserts if we make the Lord Jesus and his word the rock and foundation of our lives, then nothing can shake us nor keep us from God's presence and protection.

"Lord Jesus, you are the only foundation that can hold us up when trials and disaster threaten us. Give me the wisdom, foresight, and strength of character I need to do what is right and good and to reject whatever is false and contrary to your will. May I be a doer of your word and not a hearer only."

The Word Among Us Meditation on Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27 (Psalm 118 A Song of Victory) inspires asking how can we be a blessing to other people as St. Nicholas was?

By being as generous as we can. By imitating Nicholas’ habit of giving ourselves to other people through acts of love, compassion, and kindness. Every day, God gives us opportunities to bless people by giving of ourselves, just as he does. Every day, he invites us to share in the joy he has in pouring himself out for his children.

Friar Jude Winkler, noting that Chapters 24-27 of Isaiah were probably added to the original text, share the confidence that the Lord will provide justice and safety for His people. He raises the lowly and brings down the haughty. The profound attachment we build by doing the Word is strength for us in trouble.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us that the Body of Christ is not out there or over there; it’s in us—it’s here and now and everywhere. The goal is then to move beyond ourselves and recognize that what’s true in us is true in all others too. The Universal Christ permeates all creation including us. We are all the image and likeness of God!

Participating in Christ allows each of us to know that “I don’t matter at all, and yet I matter intensely—at the same time!” That’s the ultimate therapeutic healing. I’m just a little grain of sand in this giant, giant universe. I’m going to pass in a little while like everyone else will. But I’m also a child of God. I’m connected radically, inherently, intrinsically to the Center and to everything else.

Today, the texts resonate with our memory of events that are annually connected to December 6 in Canada. Three are: St. Nicholas from our childhood, the Halifax explosion that shook the rock of our city in WWI, and the Montreal massacre at Ecole Polytechnique, the brutal assault against women in engineering who were striving to be a foundation for change.

References

1	(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 26 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/26
2	(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21
3	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
4	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
5	(n.d.). 1st Week of Advent - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
6	(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/