As I write this the rain is pouring down on the skylight outside my office window: a very good sound. We have been praying for rain, and God has answered our prayers. The news, however, has unleashed a barrage of dire warnings about the “worst storm in five years….”
This morning before sunrise, I drove through the plashing rain for Mass at Mother Teresa’s sisters. I was delighted to hear the Alleluia verse sung by 40 angelic sisters’ voices: “Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.” Rather than spreading “dire fear,” let the news media spread joy and thanksgiving to an all-provident Father who provides rain and wind and sun for his beloved children.
Reflecting a culture empty of God, however, the media usually spreads anxiety. It trembles with panic at every change in the weather, or the economy, or the human condition. It fears change, because it does not fear God.
The first reading today (Dec 11) reassures us, if we have ears to hear: “Fear not, O worm Jacob, o maggot Israel: I will help you, says the Lord”—not very flattering to us poor maggots, but an accurate description of our trembling helplessness. “They seek water in vain…but I will open up fountains … I will turn dry ground into springs, that all may know that the hand of the Lord has done this.”
If we think we can control the climate, or even manage our own fears, we live in fear, because life is bigger than us. We are only worms, slithering on a rainy sidewalk. But our Father loves these little worms, and provides rain and sun for them. A Christian should know this, and fear not.
This morning before sunrise, I drove through the plashing rain for Mass at Mother Teresa’s sisters. I was delighted to hear the Alleluia verse sung by 40 angelic sisters’ voices: “Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.” Rather than spreading “dire fear,” let the news media spread joy and thanksgiving to an all-provident Father who provides rain and wind and sun for his beloved children.
Reflecting a culture empty of God, however, the media usually spreads anxiety. It trembles with panic at every change in the weather, or the economy, or the human condition. It fears change, because it does not fear God.
The first reading today (Dec 11) reassures us, if we have ears to hear: “Fear not, O worm Jacob, o maggot Israel: I will help you, says the Lord”—not very flattering to us poor maggots, but an accurate description of our trembling helplessness. “They seek water in vain…but I will open up fountains … I will turn dry ground into springs, that all may know that the hand of the Lord has done this.”
If we think we can control the climate, or even manage our own fears, we live in fear, because life is bigger than us. We are only worms, slithering on a rainy sidewalk. But our Father loves these little worms, and provides rain and sun for them. A Christian should know this, and fear not.
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