Prv 9:1-6 / Eph 5:15-20 / Jn 6:51-58
A young father was spending the day at the zoo with his six-year-old son. When they came to the tigers’ cage, the father explained how ferocious and strong tigers are. The little boy’s eyes grew bigger and bigger till finally he asked nervously, "Daddy, if the tiger got out of his cage and ate you up…"
"Yes, son?" said the father, ready to soothe and reassure him.
But the boy continued, "If the tiger got out and ate you up, which bus should I take home?"
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Things are not always as they seem.
There are lots of things that can make us say what we just heard Paul say in the epistle: "These are evil days." If you doubt that, watch the TV news for ten minutes. Or closer to home, take a look in the mirror: It’s either pimples or wrinkles! You finally get rid of the one and then the other starts to show up — and the wrinkles don’t go away, they just invite in all their friends!
Trials and tribulations, irritations, aggravations: That’s life, but only one side of life. Because hidden inside every trouble and every aggravation is an opportunity just waiting to be noticed and taken hold of. That’s what Paul is telling us ever so subtly. Every one of life’s difficulties and challenges is an invitation from God to let go of what doesn’t matter or doesn’t work, and to search for what does matter and what can bring us joy and freedom.
And so for example, whether we’re looking at pimples or wrinkles, what’s really in front of us is God’s invitation to let go of our worrying about appearances and to focus on straightening out what’s behind the face, what’s inside the head and the heart.
Sometimes we have to face a pain or frustration that just has to be lived with; we can’t make it go away. What’s the opportunity there? Perhaps it’s an invitation to relax in the Lord, to give ourselves over to him at long last; perhaps it’s an invitation to let go of our obsessive perfectionism or our excessive need to control.
We each have our own special collection of stresses and hurts, and we know them well. But have we looked behind them? Have we searched in faith for the invitation God has wrapped inside them? If we haven’t, we’re wasting a lot of pain. And that isn’t what God wants for us. God is offering us joy and freedom for the taking, here and now. Look a little deeper and you’ll find it, wrapped discretely inside your troubles. If you look, you’ll find it. It’s there!
