“I, the Lord, grasp your right hand; ‘Fear not, I will help you’” – Isaiah 41:13
Have you ever reached out to a busy friend with the offer – “Hey, let me give you a hand with that” only to receive the reply, “No thanks, I can handle it myself”? While it could be true that our friend may not really need our help, it is also possible that the friend lacks the humility to admit human limitation and dependence on others. Jesus is the Lord’s outstretched hand. Jean Vanier writes, “By ourselves we cannot bridge the gap that separates the finite from the infinite. God reaches out to us and we become holy as we welcome God who comes to us.” What will be our response to our Lord’s offer to give us a hand? Will we have the humility to set aside our arrogance, the illusion that we can achieve satisfaction, control, success, permanence, and independence, without reaching out to grasp the hand that is offered to us in love? Communion and community depend upon our willingness to reach out, to receive the Lord’s help in the gifted uniqueness of others but also to offer to others that which is our share in the richness of God’s love. “As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are called to … minister God’s healing touch of love … to all whom you meet in your journey of life.” We may have become so accustomed to a lifestyle oriented toward accomplishments and independence that we fail to recognize the little invitations that arise in our ordinary, unspectacular lives to reach out to receive, respond, and participate in the Kingdom of Heaven that is already abiding and growing within and among us. In Harmony, Small Things Grow.
What attitude will help you to be attentive today to the moments in which a hand is extended – either to offer you help or to request help from you?
The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness. Come Lord Jesus!
Amen.
Brother Joseph Pawlika
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