In the Word: Hold On
 
By Jonathan Camiolo Ever get to the point in life that you just want to throw your hands in the air and give up? I think it is a common moment shared by a lot of us because we simply cannot understand a subject in school, or just got cut from the team (again!), or mom and dad are fighting. Maybe things just don’t seem to be going your way or that anything you do ever works out no matter how hard you try. I know what you mean. Most of us, if not all of us, have them. Admit it…you do…haha. The readings this weekend are perfect for anyone ever overwhelmed or feeling hopeless…so they are for all of us. They assure us that life is not going to be fair or easy, and at moments it might even look like “clamorous discord”. You just want to run away. The readings also instruct us how to respond at those moments – WAIT and TRUST. Just HOLD ON and know that God will be there when you need Him and will empower you to do what you need to. The second reading is pretty direct telling us to not be cowards, but instead to powerful, loving and self-controlled by the grace that comes from God; Don’t be ashamed of who you are and don’t be afraid of hardship. In the gospel Jesus says on of the most convicting statements in the Bible I think, stating that we need a faith the size of a mustard seed in order to move a tree. So what is He getting at? Well, Jesus is telling us that we need to grow in faith for sure, all of us! In the end, this a week for us to think about our response when life gets hard or things don’t go our way. How do you respond? Do you give up? Run away? Treat others meanly? Cope? Or do you decide to be self controlled, loving even when it hurts and powerful in the face of adversity trusting in God? Think. Pray. Decide. Change.
Sunday, October 7, 2007