A Reflection for Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
How many signs do people need? Lot and his family get angels pleading with them to leave a condemned city; the disciples get Jesus who calms the wind and the sea in front of their eyes. And don’t we get smaller and less dramatic signs every day, assuring us that God has our back, that we are enough, that God’s love is unconditional?
Yet we, along with Lot and his poor wife and the disciples caught in a sudden storm, still doubt. More than that, we shrink into our fear. The divine signs do not seem powerful enough to eradicate our human fear. Maybe the signs themselves scare us: I mean, I’ve never had angels speak to me or seen the winds and the sea obey a man’s rebuke, and I’d probably be a little freaked out if I did. But at times I’ve ignored the subtler signs that would give my spiritual life a helpful push. I pay more attention to the sudden storms. “Your mercy is before my eyes,” says the psalmist, (Ps 26) acknowledging that we do not lack for signs. We can see God all around us if we aren’t afraid to keep our eyes wide open.
My sympathies lie with Lot’s wife—does she even have a name?—who fatefully just couldn’t take the angels at their celestial word. Against all advice, she had to look. I get it. Our fear can prompt us to look backwards, to turn away from the direction we know we need to go. We don’t turn into a pillar of salt, but maybe a piece of our heart petrifies. We are luckier than Lot’s wife when grace gives us another chance to turn back into God’s embrace.
“Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Jesus asks with a touch of human annoyance. It’s like he’s thinking: Don’t you people ever see the signs? We of little faith are sometimes terrified. We’re afraid of perishing. We’re afraid of losing face. We’re afraid of following a sign if it means going against custom or standing alone.
“My foot stands on level ground,” says the psalmist, and level ground is holy ground. Lot is directed to level ground outside the ruined city; the disciples swamped by waves are returned to calm and level seas. We too can stand on level ground when we walk ourselves into the circle of God’s love. Look around you if you need a sign. You’re in good company. The sacred is everywhere.
