The words of today’s Gospel,
“at the sight of the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”, are very applicable for us today. I can only imagine Jesus looking down upon the earth and repeating the same words. Sometimes, like so many others, I feel we are like sheep without a shepherd. The whole planet suffers from two serious threats: the coronavirus pandemic and the call for racial equality. We struggle to find solutions while we realize many of our leaders and institutions have failed us.
“He went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.” (For today, for
“disease” read coronavirus; for
“sickness:” read “injustice”. Only those who place their trust in Jesus, like the mute man in today’s Gospel, find healing and liberation. Those who fail to trust in Jesus, like the Pharisees, find demons and darkness.
The prophet Hosea warns against placing our trust in false gods:
“With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.” In these challenging times, it’s tempting to place our trust in money and power. We hear people say things like; “But if everyone went back to work, to normal, things would be OK: it’s the economy that counts.” Or “government has no right to mandate facial masks.” The fact is: we know the coronavirus infects both the rich and the poor; we know that those entrusted with power, like our police force and government officials, can abuse that power; we know that the racial injustice we see today is embedded in systems built from toxic ideologies by individuals who also believed in themselves. But we also know that we must all do our part. Yes, we must trust ourselves to do the right thing.
Some are tempted to place their trust in science to “solve” the coronavirus. I also know that this virus is brand new: there is still too much we do not know. Science has limits. God, however, is infinite. Above all we must trust that God is with us to find the way. We repeat today’s Psalm, knowing in Whom we place my trust:
“The house of Israel trusts in the Lord.” God bless you.
Fr. Brian