In today's first reading from the Book of Esther, Esther is confronted with life or death dilemmas, first as a female orphan, then finding herself in high favor in the King's harem because of her beauty, and finally being made his queen. Not so bad for way back then, you might think, until she must choose either to reveal her Jewish beliefs to the King and perish with her people or devise a plan to be true to herself and still live. No wonder she cries out to the Lord, "l am alone and have no one but you!" While we may not face such dire straits or have our decisions affect a whole community, who among us has not felt this helplessness or asked the Lord to "turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness”?
Our lives today are filled with small choices and everyday decisions, but also those of immense consequence for our spiritual lives and those around us, even as we struggle to live in peace and harmony and maintain some form of wholeness. Sometimes our situation might seem not possible to unravel...yet. Just as with Esther, however, there is a way, and prayerfully, one will become apparent in which we can remain faithful to ourselves and to God.
In the Gospel passage, Jesus reminds us of the willingness of our Heavenly Father to embrace, support, and gift us even in our temptations and wanderings, our confusion and helplessness. As we earnestly ask our Heavenly Father for the good things of life, let us lay our petitions at the foot of the Cross this Lenten Season, trusting the Lord's all-encompassing vision and Plan, but knowing with blessed assurance that somehow, all will be well. In the meantime, let us continue to live our lives treating others with respect and kindness as well as seeking to extend the unconditional benevolence to others that our God continually bestows on us.