An eerie first reading today from Wisdom 2. It describes the things that Jesus went through to a tee. Be sure to read it and see if you don’t shake your head in amazement knowing that this was written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. The Gospel reading today is from John 7, where the people of Galilee were wondering if this Jesus could be the Christ. “When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” And Jesus lets them know that they don’t truly know where he is from; that he has come from the Father.
I’d like us to reflect today on our Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 34. The response at Mass today is from verse 19, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” Psalm 34 is a song of reassurance to those who trust in the Lord. “When the just cry out, the Lord hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.” But all is not peaches and cream…”Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers him.”
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” This seems almost a bit paradoxical, doesn’t it? Why? Because it is often at those times when we are brokenhearted that we feel God is furthest away. During those difficult times when we experience a broken relationship, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, financial difficulty…those are most often the times that we cry out, “Where are you, God?!” Yet, just like the old Footprints story, those are the times when God is closest to us; when Jesus carries us. So the next time you are brokenhearted, feel God’s presence, His closeness.
Father, thank you for watching over us always, especially when we are brokenhearted. Help us to give comfort to the brokenhearted today. Amen.
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