Overview:

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A Reflection for Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.

Find today’s readings here.

On occasion, I have the privilege of assisting in various choirs on a Sunday morning. It’s always a beautiful opportunity to meet other congregations in my neighborhood and, on more than one occasion, sing hymns and songs that I don’t normally hear. 

One lyric from a hymn sung recently during one of these visits, “How Firm a Foundation,” resonated with me, and I was reminded of it as I reflected on our readings for today. 

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, 
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; 
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, 
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.” 

Written in the voice of God speaking to the individual faithful, God speaks comfort and peace to the one singing the hymn. The verse strikingly doesn’t say that the life of the Christian will be free of harm or struggle. Rather, God promises his presence with the individual Christian, and that, in times of trouble, God is “with thee” and will “strengthen thee” and even when we fall, “cause thee to stand.” 

I can’t help but tear up every time I sing this verse, and our two readings today call to mind this sense of God’s unwavering help and presence, especially when God seems abundantly absent. 

In our first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, all seems lost, both for the house of David and, specifically, their king, Hezekiah. An opposing empire, Assyria, encloses around Hezekiah and his people, and just when his leadership is most needed, Hezekiah draws close to death. It’s interesting what God promises Hezekiah next. God doesn’t promise to take death away from Hezekiah. God instead offers Hezekiah more time as a sign of God’s everlasting presence with God’s children, including victory over their captives. God remains. 

Our Gospel continues this theme with the debate between Jesus and the Pharisees about Sabbath law. Jesus and his disciples feed on wheat plucked from the field, breaking the Sabbath law prohibiting work. As the Pharisees remind Jesus of this law, Jesus likewise reminds the Pharisees of laws broken in the temple—where God’s presence dwells—thus pointing to his own authority. Quoting the prophet Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” Jesus says that something greater than the temple is present, namely, God’s presence in human flesh, taking on the human condition in Jesus Christ. Again, God remains.  

These readings find us, I think, at such an appropriate time. As the summer days continue, I find myself asking big questions: “Where is God in my life?” “What is God calling me to?” “Where is God in the messiness of today’s world?” “Am I doing all that I can to follow God’s will in responding to the needs of this world, loving my neighbor as myself?” If you’re anything like me, these questions can get incredibly overwhelming. Yet God tells us today in these readings, like Jesus to the Pharisees: “Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed.” And, as we continue this Christian journey and strive to follow God’s law of love, we will stumble and fall. Nevertheless, God, like when he shares news of the house of David’s victory of the king of Assyria to an ailing King Hezekiah, promises that he will “strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,” even when all seems lost. 

Our message today is that God remains. In our doubts. In our fears. In our joy. In our triumphs. God-with-us, Emmanuel, remains with us always. Fear not. God is with you.

John Consolie is the assistant director of Outreach.