First Reading: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16
Second Reading: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42
From today's readings, the words that stuck to my heart were, "Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest." There are great words that call for a total trust in the fact that God is in control of what we experience or go through. These are words that imply that very often we are not in control and that by ourselves we cannot find a solution to what is troubling us or hurting us. There are words which entail an abandonment in God , a letting go knowing that somehow with God we will see ourselves through whatever is weighing us down.
This year I had a stint in hospital and for the first time as a priest, I spent Holy Week by myself in hospital. I tried to follow the different liturgical celebrations quietly in my room reflecting on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. It struck me that for the majority of people Easter demands the greatest emphasis. For many, the most important day or event of Holy Week is Easter. Everything points to Resurrection Sunday. This is very understandable, because Easter is one of the greatest feasts in the church. Even non-religious people hold Easter as very special. As a society we also have Easter holidays. However, I reflected that we can only have a real understanding and appreciation of Easter if we first of all go into the tomb. There can never be an Easter, unless we die first. The unfortunate reality is that not many of us would like to go into the tomb. It is something frightening and a reality which leaves us uncertain and very apprehensive.
I had to undergo an operation on Tuesday of Holy Week and as I was reflecting on this I started to get frightened and agitated. My whole life has been one of trying to control the way I act and the way I think. My ministry as a priest and bishop entails with it a certain responsibility that everything falls within certain parameters as laid down by the church. I have been very well trained to make sure that everything is kept under control. However, in front of an operation, I realised that I could not control that particular situation. I had to go through the operation whether I was at peace with it or not.
I remember as I was in the room just outside the operating theatre, I made this prayer. "Lord, you know how I am feeling at the moment. I feel very apprehensive and scared. This is my going into the tomb. You have been there already. You know what it means to be in the tomb. Therefore I ask you to guide me as I enter my tomb. You take my hand and walk with me during this time of uncertainty and anxiety. I trust you. I trust that you will take good care of me. Into your hands, I commit my mind, my heart, my soul; I commit everything that I have and whoever I am into your healing hands." Today I have a better understanding of what Easter means and what those words of Jesus that we have read in today's gospel entail.
All of this helps me to guide other people in their times of confusion and uncertainty. This morning I was woken up quite early by a phone call. The person said that she knew me, but to tell you the truth, I could not put a face to the name that she gave me. The person told me that she had heard voices telling her that Satan had been reborn in 1982 somewhere in the Middle East and now he is continuing his work of devastation and destruction in Africa. What do you do when you receive such a phone call. It is very east to start to get angry and upset at being woken up at an early hour for such a reason. However the words of Jesus came back to me, "Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest." This sister is disturbed. She is full of anxiety and fear even though what she told me about hearing voices telling her that the devil has been reborn in the Middle East is not in tune with reality.
What do you do? All I did was to steer her back to Jesus; to keep her eyes fixed on Jesus rather than on the evil one. Of course the devil exists, of course he has work to do and he does it very well. Yet the victor is Jesus Christ and so I prayed, "Lord, give this sister your peace. May your peace continue to fill her mind and her heart. Protect her from any harm. May you protect her by your precious blood. Guard her from any physical or spiritual harm". When people come to us to share their difficult experience, let us take the opportunity and bring Jesus in the picture by praying with them.
The concluding remarks that I would like to make is that coming to Jesus in our difficulties does not mean that we do not make the hard decisions that are necessary to ameliorate our situation. We also have to do our part. We simply cannot just come to God with our needs and then leave all the work to God alone. We are also asked to do what is necessary. When we are in difficult times, we pray, we bring our situation to God, but at the same time we are also required to do whatever is required in order to alleviate those difficult times. It is true, prayer is not everything, but it is the first thing.
God bless.
Bishop Joe Grech
