Today’s second reading invites us to be patient with the discipline of the Lord. This brings up several ideas to consider. Many people look upon God as a punishing God who seeks to destroy sinners, but that is not what the second reading teaches. It teaches that God is a father who uses discipline, not punishment, to teach His children.
Discipline is the root word for disciple and God mentors us to learn how to be his disciples. However, the obvious question is are we listening to His message. Discipline turns people into disciples only if they heed the discipline and its message. If we do neither then it is useless.
When we are going through troubled times and we don’t hear God’s response to us, it is time to ask are we listening to His message or are we so focused on ourselves that His message cannot get through.
Take the person who is suffering from heavy debt and prays for relief, but does not go to Church and spends some of his money on lottery tickets waiting for that magic payday when he or she will get out debt. However, if the person would turn his heart to God, he may find that what he is spending his money on, including lottery tickets is what God is calling him to curtail and He is calling the person to return to God by attending mass and turning his heart over to his Heavenly Father. However, if he refuses to addresses his problems with God beside prayers of petition and buying lottery tickets, the message he is receiving is going unheard.
If you hear the discipline of the Lord, then you will be changed by the Lord, if you do not hear it or take it as arbitrary punishment then you will turn against God and go deeper into your problems.
Many people will look at difficulties as God’s punishment or His impotence, nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus Himself says that all the hairs on our head have been counted. God’s discipline like his patience is geared toward our salvation.
We need to take advantage of this tremendous gift, for when we trust that God will discipline us in love, then we trust He is leading us toward our salvation. We can trust in Him and our prayer can lead us closer to Him. We need to trust those words that all things work for the good of those who love God, therefore, our difficult times may be God’s way of forming us more on the road to salvation. There is no greater gift than being assured that this is happening in our life. We cooperate with it by listening when things go wrong.
This does not mean every difficulty is a sign of the discipline of the Lord, some realities are just realities. God’s discipline is not why you may have been robbed. However, the bitterness that you hold because of that robbery is where God will get in and mentor you to peace and forgiveness, while seeking true justice. However, if you turn in on yourself and refuse to allow God in, then you will have great difficulties.
The same can be said for illness. Most illness is not a punishment for wrong doing. I say most, because some illness are the result of actions we have taken that damage our bodies, however, illness as a rule is not a punishment for wrong doing. It like suffering injustice is a reality that happens because we live in fallen world. But allowing God to use your illness to draw you closer to Him is the fruit of discipline.
Allow the discipline of the Lord to be guide in your life and you will see it as a great gift.
God bless you,
Fr. Robert J Carr
You can follow him on twitter as @frbobcarr. Thoughts, comments on the homily? Let us know at Facebook
Enduring the discipline of the Lord takes patience and prayer.
I will leave you with three questions:
When things go wrong, what are those things saying to you? If you ask for a response and do not get it, then what is God trying to tell you? Are you listening?
God bless you,
Fr. Robert J Carr
You can follow him on twitter as @frbobcarr. Thoughts, comments on the homily? Let us know at Facebook