We live an unusual situation and this period of pandemic is definitely upsetting.
Our daily lives have been turned upside down –
our ways of doing and being can no longer be what they were only nine months ago.
And we are… wondering – wondering where we are going, where this will lead us to…
The 2nd reading of today’s feast tells us of Abram (He.11:8,11-12,17-19)
who also experienced his life being transformed by an unexpected call.
We are told:
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going…”
At that time, Abraham was in the dark, so to speak, it was only later that he would see
that the place he was going to would become a gift.
Fast forward to our 21st century:
Could it be that this period of pandemic would also become… a gift later?
And in today’s gospel we meet Mary and Joseph bringing their new-born child to the Temple (Lc.2:22-40).
It is said that:
“The child’s father and mother stood there wondering…”
The English word ‘wonder’ has, in fact, a double meaning:
To wonder can mean asking oneself questions about something or someone;
To wonder can also mean to marvel at something, some situation or person.
Our present situation of social distancing and confinement may lead us to ask many questions:
When will we be freed from this situation?
Will there be a cure one day?
Will our lives return to what they were before this pandemic?
What if our wonder about what is happening now
turned out to be wonder at what God will have done for us later?
God’s ways can be really wonder-full!
Note: Another reflection on a different theme is available in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-la-sainte-famille-annee-b-2020/
When told that something is free, or at a big discount, some people will rush to benefit from the offer.
We pretend that we can ‘handle it’, we can manage on our own.