The
beautiful words at the conclusion of the passage from Malachi today are very
consoling. The prophet says, speaking in God’s name, “For you who revere my
name the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings.” Could
there be a more consoling image for each of us and for all humankind, that is,
consolation under God’s wings? We live in a world characterized by moral crisis
and decay of culture. Life is taken for granted and often discarded. Some have
called the present climate a “culture of death.” Despite this reality,
Christians are called to moral integrity and to the promotion of life in all
its stages. We believe there is a reward for living righteously and penalty for
wrongdoing, sure to come in God’s Day of Judgment. The Lord will come, we are
assured in Sacred Scripture and Christian Tradition, and the question remains:
Are we ready? Am I ready? We believe that God’s justice and Kingdom of
righteousness and peace will surely be established and prevail in the end. We
are being offered grace by God to heed his call and to do his will, to be
builders of God’s Kingdom that lasts forever. Our vocation is to work at
drawing others to the Gospel we have found and embraced in Jesus Christ. This
means truly loving our enemies, joyfully accepting setbacks and sufferings,
being patient in adversity, forgiving those who trespass against us, and
extending comfort and compassion to those who lack hope or help. Saint Paul
writing to the Thessalonians puts it in very practical terms in the second
lesson today: work quietly that you might eat. Don’t keep busy with other
peoples’ business, but mind your own. That could sound like “tending your own
garden,” and closing in on oneself. Saint Paul doesn’t promote an evasion of
involvement with others, but sticking to what pertains to the welfare of others
and not meddling in what is not our concern. This takes practice, prudence,
tact, discretion and strength, for which we should pray to the Holy Spirit. God
bestows the needed grace and wisdom to face trials and to respond to the
challenges to our faith. Our obedience to Christ doesn’t mean sidestepping
spiritual conflict, persecution, suffering and difficulties. Rather, belonging
to Christ enables us to face trials with greater courage and love. That is the
heart of Jesus’ admonition, “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened”[1].
It is always important to remember that the burdens of life don’t disappear
when we belong to Christ, but they do become bearable, because another is at
our side, so much so that Saint Augustine could pray in his Confessions: “But
Thou, Lord, wants more within me than my inmost being and higher than what is
highest in me”[2]. If this is
so, and we believe it is for all who adhere to Christ, then we should not fear
or run away from whatever we experience as a challenge in life. The reality of
a time of destruction and uprooting, the coming of the Son of Righteousness,
our Lord Jesus Christ, and peacefully going about our daily tasks are all to be
held in balance in our life. Only with God’s help can we do so, filled with joy
and confidence that makes us bold witnesses of God’s saving message of freedom
and salvation in the Lord. Our God comes to rule the world with righteousness
and the peoples with fairness, Sacred Scripture reminds us. May we be unafraid
to let God act in the depths of our being today and always. May our reception
of the Body and Blood of the Lord at the Holy Eucharist strengthen us for the
journey, until Christ returns to take us home forever • AE
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