Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter (May 9, 2017): God holds on tight!

Acts 11:19-26
Ps 87:1b-7 (with Ps 117:1a)
John 10:22-30
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050917.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_05_09.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John.

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

Think of the people you know who are straying from God and/or the Church. Are you worried that they might never return? If you have prayed for them and placed them into God’s hands, why worry? Jesus points out in our Gospel reading today, “My Father is greater than all, and no one can take them out of his hand.”

God won’t force them to come back, but he is greater, bigger and more powerful than all their reasons for ignoring him and disobeying him. There is no obstacle in their path, no demon, no misconception, no stubbornness, or any sin that is more powerful than God. What seems like a hopeless situation is merely God submitting to their free will decisions while at the same time using the delay to produce many (and often surprising) blessings.

The Good Shepherd knows what the straying sheep need. He will use their delays for their benefit, he will turn their sins into victories, and he will use their eventual conversions for his glory.

Right now, he is actively working to use their decisions and even their sins to provide them with very important lessons. The longer it takes, the more these lessons will give God a bigger foothold in their lives later. They are lessons that will motivate them to embrace him more fully. They are lessons that will give them knowledge that can minister to others. Why should these people be denied these lessons just because we’re worried?

Not sure you can believe me on this? Think about someone you know who has had a conversion experience, someone who has a very active faith life but who used to be far from God. Didn’t their rebellion of long ago become energy for their Christ-centered enthusiasm now?

When people make bad decisions that ruin God’s plans for them, he implements a new plan — one which he developed a long time ago, one which, if he’s given enough time, always turns out better than the first plan. He can use all of our detours and side trips along the way to show us how much we need him, and how to return to him.

The best way to pray for those who are straying is to ask Our Father to make sure that none will die before turning their hearts over to him. Jesus assures us in this scripture that the Father will honor this prayer. I’ve seen it work for my father-in-law. For years, my husband Ralph and I prayed for him to accept Christ’s love, but when Alzheimer’s Disease afflicted him, it seemed impossible.

Two weeks before Ralph’s dad died, something happened. We don’t know what, because he wasn’t capable of talking about it, but suddenly he wanted to go to Mass to receive the Eucharist (it was brought to him) and he lived his final days in great peace. God is more powerful than the mental disability of Alzheimer’s disease.

We can confidently trust that when we pray for the conversions of people we love, we are collaborating with God in a plan that he’s already implementing. He desires their conversions more than we do. Keep offering their lives up to God (since they are not doing this themselves, we do it for them). Your prayers are infusing God’s grace into their hearts. Trust in God’s love and power to make a difference.

Today’s Prayer:

I thank You, Lord Jesus, for opening my senses, my mind, and my heart to recognize You and to hear Your voice. Amen.