Word to the Wise
Thursday, December 2, 2021 - 1st Week of Advent - Thurs
[Isa 26:1-6 and Matt 7:21, 24-27]Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock. [Isaiah] "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it has been set solidly on rock." [Matthew]
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In the Fall of 1989 (during my time as Novice Master of our Southern Dominican province), I made a trip to Oakland, CA, to visit the student brothers who had just made temporary profession. On a nice October day, the world began to shake. I was an unwitting participant in the Loma Prieta earthquake! Our community lived in an apartment house on a hillside but remained in place. Other houses in the Marina district of San Francisco did not do well. They were built on a soil foundation that in an earthquake turned to liquid! But even in our "secure" house, we could continue to feel the aftershocks! Would the earth ever stop shaking? I am sure that those who have lived through similar disasters such as epic hurricanes or tornadoes feel the same way. Is there no end to the horror?
For many, the only thing that seems constant in these terrible situations is their religious faith. Since the everyday-ness of faith seems a "given," its strength may not be tested until some disaster occurs, whether natural or accidental. Faith may also be tested by the erosive and corrosive effects of a "holiday culture" at this time of year. For some people it is a struggle to get past this time! What can one hold to? What is the "rock" that sustains and holds us steady?
A visual cue is found in the nativity scene that we rescue from the attic or some closet. It may be elaborate or maybe just a bare minimum of figurines. But it is a reminder of the Rock on which our faith stands - God incarnate! AMEN