Commentary on the Gospel of
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I have a confession to make. When it comes to contributing to Creighton's Online Ministries through writing these scriptural reflections, I feel quite inadequate, not to mention unqualified. Though I quite enjoy writing these reflections, I have no degree in theology nor any time in formation to be a priest, brother, or deacon. I can think of many who seem to 'do spirituality better' than I or who have a scholarly eye for biblical interpretation. Accordingly, I wonder what I can truly offer to this ministry. How sobering a realization this is.
To pour salt on this wound, as the saying goes, today's scripture readings reveal how misguided this line of thinking is to begin with. Why? Because this whole train of thought is so self-centered when, in truth, this or any other labor in which we engage is not truly about us. Glory for any triumph is not ours but God's. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea - not Moses. Further, the Lord saved Israel - not Moses. Here, it seems that Moses's outstretched hand was not so much a gesture of power but, rather, of surrender to the power of God. Too often, perhaps, we live wrestling with our inadequacies, our failures, our shortcomings. These are the brushstrokes that paint an unsatisfying picture of ourselves to behold. But there is hope. And that hope does not rest in ourselves but in God. God labors with us, through us, and for us. God offers the perpetual invitation to do his will and, as Jesus says, be [his] brother, and sister, and mother. Like Moses, may we too surrender to God's will and so glorify him. |
