What is the plan for each of us?
Our strengths and weaknesses are to be used in the service of the Lord.
By Lou Occhi
We may not feel like it, but we are “made glorious in the sight of the Lord and our God is now our strength.” We are to be “a light to the nations.” How are we a light to the nations? Individually, we are not. Put enough of us together, and we will produce plenty of light.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30–19:3
Mark 5:21-43
Today’s readings are leading us toward the passion of Christ. As I read them, I found that not only do they point directly to Jesus, they also point to each one of us.
As I read Isaiah, I imagined that I was Isaiah and that the Lord was speaking to me. I am no prophet, but the content of the reading could apply to anyone. It starts by saying the Lord called me from birth. Of course he did. At conception, our body began to form through the union of my parents’ DNA. At the same moment, our Lord endowed our body with an immortal soul.
That soul is not just any soul; it is who we are. Our body and soul have certain strengths and weaknesses that are to be used in the service of the Lord. God has a plan for each one of us. It is up to us to fulfill that plan.
What is the plan for each of us? We struggle to make the best use of whatever gifts we have and overcome our weaknesses. Slowly, we begin to recognize that is the plan. There are times when we feel like we are lost and have “uselessly spent our strength, yet our reward is with the Lord… who formed us in our mother’s womb.”
We may not feel like it, but we are “made glorious in the sight of the Lord and our God is now our strength.” We are to be “a light to the nations.” How are we a light to the nations? Individually, we are not. Put enough of us together, and we will produce plenty of light.
In Isaiah, we learned that our Lord has a plan for us and that He has given us what we need to fulfill that plan. The psalm acknowledges that we will face adversity. The psalm tells us to look to the Lord and take refuge in Him. As we struggle to live His plan for us, we will run into disasters and those who wish us harm.
We need turn to the Lord in times of trouble. He will not abandon us. Remember that Jesus turned to the Father in prayer as He was about to go through His passion and death on the cross. If that is what the Son of God does in times of trouble, then we should emulate Him.
As we learned from Isaiah, Jesus came to us through His mother just as we came through our mothers. He too had a mission. He came to teach us how to live our lives as the Father in heaven wishes for us and how much He loves each one of us. He demonstrated this through His compassion with outcasts of society, healing of the sick, feeding of thousands of hungry followers with two loaves of bread and two fish, and many other signs.
In spite of all that He did, He had more than His share of adversities. In the end, He came to atone for the sin of Adam and Eve and reopen the gates of Paradise for all humanity from the beginning of time to the end of time.
The Gospel of John relates the story near the end of His mission on Earth. Towards the end of the last supper, Jesus reveals that there is one among them who will betray Him. Needless to say, that evoked a lot of chatter. John asked Jesus who the betrayer was. Jesus told him that he would dip a morsel and hand it to the one who would betray Him. Jesus then dips the morsel and hands it to Judas. Jesus tells Judas, “What you are going to do, do it quickly.”
The other apostles thought that Judas was leaving to buy what they needed for the feast or give something to the poor. After Judas left, Jesus told them that He would be leaving soon. Where He is going, they cannot follow, though they will be able to follow later. Peter tells Jesus he wants to follow Him now and declares he will lay down his life for Him. Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times before the cock crows. I think that the story of the two thieves found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke encapsulates this last part of the gospel.
When Jesus was crucified, there were two thieves crucified next to Him. One thief tells Jesus that if He is the Christ, to save Himself and them. The other thief rebukes the first thief and says that they deserve their punishment for what they have done, but Jesus is an innocent man.
He then turns to Jesus and asks Him to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. Jesus tells the good thief that he will be in Paradise with Him this day. In this simple setting, the bad thief is a lot like Judas. He knows Jesus is the Christ yet he thinks of Jesus as a tool to use for his own gain, and cannot bring himself to ask for forgiveness.
The good thief is also like Peter of the future. He recognizes his sinfulness and his deserved punishment, yet comes to Jesus defense. He only asks to be remembered. Jesus, in His abundant mercy and love, goes beyond a simple remembrance and tells him that this day he will be in paradise.
As foretold, Peter, in fear for his life, ends up denying Jesus three times. When the cock crows, he immediately recognizes his sin and repents. Unlike Judas, he returns to Jesus and serves Him for the remainder of his life. When we are in trouble of any sort, we need to emulate the good thief and not let our pride get in the way. Look at how simple the good thief’s request of Jesus is and how richly Jesus rewarded him.