Homily for 19 Aug 2016

19 Aug 2016

God is willing to help us, if we’re willing to be helped.  We hear the Lord say: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”  But God can’t do that if we aren’t willing to be raised up.  It’s something of a catch-22.  Either God has to violate our free will (which he won’t do), or we have to trust God in what he says—knowing that what God promises won’t be proven until it actually happens. 

As the Lord says, “You shall know that I am the Lord . . . but not until I open your graves have you rise from them.”  This brings back our idea from Sunday’s homily: Give in, and trust God.  God is willing to help us, but we have to be willing to be helped.

I’m sure we’ve all wished God would do this or that in our life.  We’ve prayed for the Lord to help us with a difficulty we’re facing.  We’ve prayed for guidance and wisdom.  And that’s all good; it’s very good to turn to God in our needs.  But it’s just as important to be patient, to really look for God’s response, and to be okay with being a little vulnerable while God “gets back to us” with an answer.

You know, it’s so easy to ask God for help, and then to go off without waiting for God to help.  And then we wonder why life is hard.  If we’re willing to be helped, God will help us.  But that’s a big “if.”  It’s good to ask God for whatever we need.  But let’s be sure to let God get back to us—in his time, and in his way.