In the first reading for mass the prophet Hosea speaks on God’s behalf, when he said, “Thus said the lord: I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth when she came up from Egypt.” When you go on to read the gospel reading for today though, Matthew wrote about an official’s daughter whom everyone thought was dead, but Jesus brought her back to life. He said she wasn’t dead but sleeping.
What do these two readings have in common? The first reading for Mass each day often sheds a different light on the gospel than what we may have picked up on before. Whoever put the readings together for Mass in the Catholic church, did so for a reason. Both of the readings for Mass are about bringing what was dead, back to life. The nation of Israel had abandoned God and was lost to Him on the surface of things, in the first reading. On the surface of things in the gospel, the official’s daughter appears to be dead and lost forever to her father as well. And yet, in both cases God didn’t give up.
Nothing is completely set in stone with God. We should not be overly afraid for our family and friends, especially young people who have strayed from our faith and no longer come to Mass. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t regularly and consistently, pray for them and set a good example by how we live our lives though. It just means that nothing is impossible for God.
If you notice that the ‘desert’ that the prophet Hosea spoke of in the first reading, is much like the ‘sleep’ of the young girl in today’s gospel. We go through things as adults sometimes, and have to figure things out for ourselves, rather than depend only on what others have taught us. That is what happened to Israel. The Israelites abandoned God, to worship a false God, Baal, who could not fulfill the deepest desires of their heart. It took a while in this ‘desert’ to finally hear God’s voice alive in their hearts. It is this way with people in our day and age too.
Sometimes people come to rediscover God, because of the darkness in their lives. Eventually, no other things in this world can ever satisfy the deep down longing and emptiness inside of us, that only God can fill. Only God can satisfy this place inside of us, because we were created for Him. God created us to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him, but these are only words until we embrace them for ourselves.
There are also many people who live in godless situations in their life, that have only experienced selfishness, or abuse, neglect, materialism, etc. and they come to discover God, for what God is not. It’s like lighting a single candle, far away in the blackness of night. A single candle lit and set in a window in someone’s home at night, will shed its light many miles away. God’s love is like that as well for those who do not personally know Him, or understand Him. Words can fail to find a home in our hearts sometimes, but love never does. God is love.
The desert fathers sought to know God more deeply by removing the extra things in life that were distracting, living simple, and focusing their lives on God. There is so much noise and confusion in our modern world that it is sometimes very difficult to hear God’s voice, speak to our hearts. He frequently tries to speak to us, but we can not hear Him for the noise and distractions we encounter so much of in our daily lives.
Sometimes, it can be a very good thing to withdraw to our own ‘desert’, or enter into a silent retreat. To step away from things, even for a few days and learn to enter into silence once again. Silence drains the distractions away, emptying our souls of all that is not of God. After our souls are emptied of all of our problems, heartaches, struggles and even the good things, like our hopes and dreams, it leaves a place for God to enter in and allows Him to speak to us, instead of all the other voices that we listen to, including ourselves.
God is foremost in our lives and no one, not even the best spiritual guide in the world, can take His place. Ultimately, we need to hear His voice for ourselves in order for our spirit to truly come alive, like the little girl in today’s gospel. Jesus took her by the hand and she was healed and rose from the dead. Adoration, the Mass and confession are the most excellent ways to personally encounter Christ in our everyday lives, but if you ever feel your spirit going dry and lifeless, if God feels far away from you, then a ‘desert’ experience might be a good way to reconnect with our creator.
Is there a place of silence in your life? Is there a place you can go to get away for a few minutes, an hour, a few days? There are even people who are called to live in hermitages, either short term, or long term because they know that only God can heal their soul. Their awareness of God increases, as their awareness of the world decreases. This same principle can fit in our modern world too, from time to time, even in the midst of our worldly lives. Our vocation to love, is also our vocation to listen. We aren’t supposed to do all the talking, because a genuine relationship with God always involves listening for His voice speaking in our hearts.
Daily Mass Readings:
Hosea 2: 16, 17c-18, 21-22 / Psalm 145 / Matthew 9: 18-26
