Monday, March 23
Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The officials said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way.
—John 4: 48-50
On the front table was a display on spirituality—books about prayer, spiritual disciplines and rules of life. There were manuals on how to pray, when to pray, and how to find that special relationship with God that we seek. The store manager said it was quite popular. So, in the midst of an economic downturn, it seems that books about spirituality are flying off the shelves faster than the publishers can ship them.
We all want instant miracles. We would like to believe that running to the bookstore next door could give us precisely what the Galilean in today’s scripture had. The spirituality handbook, the new Bible or rosary—you name it—we will use whatever seems promising in our attempt to touch the hem of Christ’s garment. We think that a miracle will give us what we want, and all too often, we try a simple book or even a meditation like this one to take us to the perfect path toward wholeness.
Though our attempts may be sincere, searching for easy answers won’t help us focus on life with God. As God’s people, we know that God is present in our hardships—enduring them along with us. Our spirituality should not seek to escape life, but to enrich it by helping us see what life truly is.
We enter the journey with God not as a way to
find bliss and miracle cures for all that ails us, but as way to inhabit a real
and meaningful life. Though we may want signs and wonders, all we really need is
faith—not rooted in science, proof, facts, or supernatural miracles, but in
the every day revelation of God’s steadfast love.
If we can return to that kind
of spirituality, if all that we read and learn really invigorates our quest for
that kind of life, then we will find God and find life.
Gracious and loving God, you’re with me every day, whether I pay attention or not. Show me your path and help me remember your faithfulness in all things, that trusting in you, I will live fully in the miracle of each day. Amen.
