Search
-
March 24, 2021Before I met my wife Rosie, she lost her first-born son to crib death. When we had gotten to a point in our relationship where she felt like we had a future together, she told me about it. She was sad and she cried while she was telling me, even though almost 13 years had passed. She told me it was a big part of who she was today. I would reflect over the years on her and her ex-husband’s response to this tragedy and the arc of their lives. Her ex-husband blamed God, and his life fell apart. Rosie did not blame God, and in time she accepted the loss of her son. It was not easy. But her life did not fall apart. One blamed, one accepted. Two paths, two different lives. Cause and effect? I do not know.
In the first reading from Daniel, we find three men being thrown into a furnace for not worshipping a golden image. They do not plead for their lives to King Nebuchadnezzar, nor do they beg God to save them. Rather, they acknowledge that God may save them if He so wills, but if not, they will die willingly rather than worship false gods. They did not blame, they accepted. In fact, they praised! The responsorial between the readings is the praise of the three men in the furnace. We pray much of this as a canticle in our Sunday morning Liturgy of the Hours. Walking about unharmed in the flames, they sing songs of praise that call to mind Creation and praise God for literally everything!
In the Gospel reading we find the source of an oft-abused quote – “…the truth will set you free.” This quote is often used in TV shows and movies to encourage some miscreant to tell the truth, which will get them imprisoned, not free. However, Jesus is not asking his disciples to tell the truth. He is explaining that if they obey his teaching, they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free. What is this truth? That He will die to save them. Note that Jesus does not blame His path on their sinfulness. He does not ask why He has this path before Him. He says, “I did not come on my own, but He sent me.” Jesus also accepts God’s will. What then shall we do? Blame God for everything that goes wrong? Or accept God’s will in everything?
