Tuesday of the Fifth Week - April 8

Numbers 21:4-9 John 8:21-30

 “O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.” -Psalm 102 

This Responsorial Psalm reminds me of Psalm 40, verse 1, “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry,” which I would hear and see my father use in speeches or writings growing up. The Old Testament reading reminds us to seek God first, above all things. It is reminiscent of one of the two greatest commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” As Christ reached the utmost humility, he teaches us to do the same. 

As the people were bitten by the serpents, it reminds me that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. God is always there for us, but our sin can blind us to this. Sometimes the sin is us wanting an immediate answer from God. Though God is always there for us, are we ready for him? Is something holding us back? 

In C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, when the ghosts enter Heaven, the ground is too hard, too uncomfortable. I know in my life, when I have drifted from God, life did not go as I wanted it to. The road was not smooth. It was hard. It was uncomfortable. Many times, we do not realize our sin is holding us down. 

In the song “Gone”, by U2, there is a line, “What you thought was freedom is just greed.” 

Jocko Willink states: “Discipline is freedom.” The word ‘discipline’ is written many times in the Bible. Being disciplined in God’s ways is freedom from sin.

Lastly, the word discipline comes from the Latin word ‘discere,’ to learn. Let us all continue to learn what God asks of us and follow the Master’s teaching.  

Q: In the past, what signs have I received that my prayers have been heard?

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