Ezekiel 37: 21-28, Jeremiah 31: 10, 11-12abcd, 13, John 11: 45-56
In today’s readings, I was struck by the image of God gathering people unto Himself. This is something God has continually been doing, and is still doing today. For most of us, gathering physically is easy: we come together for Liturgy. While we can honor God through our daily life, we feel the need to come together with others to praise God. There is a certain comfort in the rituals, songs and prayers that we celebrate together.
But how does God gather us in when we are spiritually scattered, when it seems that God is nowhere to be found. If I am honest with myself, I know that it is not God who has left, but rather me who has let other cares and concerns take center stage. God provides many invitations for us to return to him. It might be through Scripture, through prayer, or through recognizing God in the words or actions of others.
I find one of the strongest invitations back to God is through the Eucharist. It is the presence of Christ in the Eucharist that keeps me in the Church despite my frustrations with the Church. It is the strength from Jesus in the Eucharist that allows me to turn over to God the difficulties I may be facing, knowing that He is always with me; and it is the peace from the Eucharist that sustains me when the answers I receive to my prayers are not necessarily the answers I was hoping for.
God offers so many ways to gather us in. To paraphrase the last line of today’s Gospel: “Will we come to the feast?”
Nancy Daly, married to Jim, mother to Tim and Kevin, physical therapist
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