Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - March 18, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
Regularly we have heard of celebrities sitting at the feet of a current guru; the Beatles in their day gave the late Maharishi a boost by their discipleship. It is frequent enough in our society for media personalities to speak of their 'spiritual trainer', psychological or religious. Yet at the same time there is often revulsion at the idea of dependence on God or Christ. The understanding seems to be that such dependence signifies an abdication of thinking or personal responsibility, being kept in a state of childishness.
The objections to any kind of dependence are probably not very well thought through. None of us, really, is free of dependence even if it is only on the power company or the water mains. Contemporary recognition of how we and all the universe and its parts are bound together in mutual dependence should make dependence on God more understandable. Being a Christian means putting one's trust in Jesus Christ as God's word to our world, depending on him more than on any self-proclaimed wizard or preacher.
Even within the Christian faith it is important that we put our faith in God and Christ. Nothing or no one less than Christ can be the same rock-like foundation that he is. The scriptures put it well in calling God and Christ over and over "my rock," "my refuge," "my stronghold," and "my strength." The most we, the church, the sacraments can do is point to and lead to Christ.
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
