Climbing the tree of mercy

What can compare to God's mercy? As human beings it sometimes is difficult to comprehend. Today's Wisdom passage tells us that "Because you (God) has mercy on all,  because you can do all things. "  Again we are reminded in the Psalm response" The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness." My struggle is accepting this.

As one who has fallen into the darkness of sin and will continue to fall how is it that God accepts me in my brokenness? In my lowest points of my life I was convinced that God did not care about my trials and tribulations.  What I failed to realize is that God always allows the freedom of choice and once I made the decision to follow Him that I would better understand the concept of mercy.  My journey to accepting God's mercy is comparable to that of Zacchaeus climbing the tree. Always feeling unworthy and short I was climbing a tree toward a better view of Jesus not knowing why I was climbing.  Sometimes I would slip and fall as the branches were weak and brittle. Downward I plunged but I always able to grasp another branch that prevented me from hitting a spiritual bottom. As it states again in Wisdom "But you spare all things, because they are your." Here was God's mercy, but yet I was unable to figure this out. Upward I climbed grabbing each branch until finally I was at the top of the tree where I could see clearly. Having a different insight, I allowed God into my being.  Yes, Jesus was going to stay at my house as well.

After many years the realization of God's infinite mercy is becoming more clear. I still question at times why He accepts me in my sinfulness. But through the workings of the Holy Spirit these faults are exposed which then allows me to bring them humbly before God in act of contrition.  My favorite prayer throughout the day continues to be the Jesus prayer.

However more challenging perhaps is why He allows the evil of others to prevail in our world.  I want to judge much like those in today's Gospel, but under different circumstances. Each of these people are climbing their own sycamore tree and as God allowed myself to make free choices, so then are they. Praying for them that they reach the proverbial top and find the gaze of God's mercy and as the psalmist states "The Lord lifts up those who are falling" can bring a sense of peace.

Persistence and Prayer in Turbulent Times

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless, and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy upon us, that in difficult moments, we might not despair, not become despondent, but with great confidence, submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself, Amen.  This prayer from the Divine Chaplet of Mercy as prayed by Saint Faustina is quite appropriate today.  I remember some months ago,  a fellow Catholic Blogger member asking that we pray this for our nation in midst of the political turmoil and the contentious election season. Since I can't remember who it was, I want to thank you for this prompting,  for this prayer pamphlet had been sitting on my bedside table for years without use.

Today as I reflected on the Old Testament reading from Exodus, I visualized a tired Moses as he tried to keep his hands up in order to spur on Joshua's troops as they battled with Amalek. Persistent in his efforts, he still needed the assistance of Aaron and Hur in order for his people to be victorious.  Again we hear in the Gospel of the woman who unceasingly badgered the judge for a righteous decision against an adversary.  Paul urges us in his letter to Timothy to be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient and again in Philippians 4:5-7 to offer all in prayer to God without anxiety.

I am sure we all have moments in our life in which the effort to put into prayer our petitions seemed beyond reach. The feelings that God was not listening to us, that He did not care, or just general malaise about the events surrounding us. I have encountered some very dark moments in my own life where I just screamed at God, "take this feeling or thorn in my side away, " over and over again.  None of my prayers seemed to be heard or were they? For myself I was looking for the quick fix or answer, not willing to subscribe to the idea of persistence.

Our society is full of quick fixes, but this in itself is contrary to the will of God. If I were given quick answers I would have no need for God after a while. I would as I had experienced in my self-centered world,  that if an answer came quickly it was of my own doing thus I create the image of myself as a knowing God. Many years of brokenness and anger toward God prevailed. But for a merciful God, I have learned some prayer requests are not always answered in my time.  Perhaps this is the lesson I needed. I needed assistance in making my requests known much like Moses who needed to rely on the help of Aaron and Hur or support from fellow Christians who are on the eternal journey.  I also needed and still need to be persistent much like the woman in today's Gospel even when it is not convenient. To the dismay of many in our world today, the Truth is in the Word of God which is life. I face daily challenges in this for it is easier to shrink and not proclaim the Gospel for fear of not being accepted. Prayer and faith as we are told today are the only answer for me, even when I find each and every day as our nation becomes increasingly divided as we approach the November election.

I am healed, now what?

For anyone who has suffered from an affliction whether it be mental, physical, or emotional the longing for freedom from the agony of the tribulation when encountered is gratefully appreciated.
The chains are broken and a new life begins, or does it? Is that person truly changed or do they  revert to the ways of the past?  Gratitude is key here. Accepting that God's role in life is key and be willing to acknowledge it is vital.  As Paul states in his letter to Timothy today, " If we persevere, we shall reign with him. But if we deny him, he will deny us." This being said I always wonder what happened to the nine lepers who did not return to Jesus after being healed. Did they accept their healing dismissively and return to a faithless life?

For those who have a new found freedom from an affliction and accept it as God's will there is a call to proclaim the Good News. For those who overcome a physical affliction or disease the realization there is no longer anymore pain brings on a sense of relief. However, those who overcome emotional or mental conditions such as addictions, the realization is gradual much like the leper who seems to realize that he is healed and that it is part of process. In our society of instant gratification many seek the spontaneous healing, thus not becoming grateful or even realizing a healing moment as they then move onto life as lived before. This process becomes a constant bouncing from one remedy to the next without realizing that the only healer is God himself.

For those of us who accept God's healing power, a gradual transformation takes place.   Notice that Namaan, in today's first reading,  was instructed to go into the waters not once, but seven times. Thus we persevere in our suffering. Perhaps the better word is faith. We try and try again putting our hope in God that we will be healed. Finally after plunging into healing waters as Namaan, our skin becomes white like a child. The sores or wounds of the past have been washed away.

Another thing to consider is that in both the first reading and Gospel those that are healed are outsiders. In our society today we have tendency to ostracize or be indifferent to those who fit the outside label. However, Jesus in his infinite grace heals the Samaritan who by his very existence is shunned by Jews and Namaan being an Assyrian is also an avowed enemy of the Jews of the time. Both men even though they are outsiders make it a priority to give God thanks for infinite mercy and healing grace that is bestowed upon them.

The process is not finished. Being dismissed as faithful servants, we are to become living examples of the life of Christ, to carry the message of healing. The word of God is not chained as Paul states. Therefore it becomes incumbent upon those to proclaim the freedom to fellow sufferers or if you may lepers, which pretty much includes all of us.  There lies the challenge, to carry the message and more importantly having the attitude of gratitude that God's healing gift is upon us daily.