Posted by The WORD in Other Word by Fr Semei Rebayla SVD (Philippines) for Thursday 14th Week in Ordinary Time
“Father, I doubt the existence of God.” This is commonly said at confession by students and young people. They seem to believe that God has lost control of everything. Thus, having faith in Him is irrelevant.
However, the first reading, from Hosea, sheds some light on the concerns of the youth. It is not God who loses control of what is happening around. It is us who slip through the caring fingers of God due to our stubbornness. We don’t want to be guided by God. He said, “the more I called them, the farther they went away from me.” Despite this, God chose to be patient, controlling his blazing anger. God wants humanity’s broken relationship restored.
Today’s Gospel continues the theme of the restoration of humanity. Christ sent his disciples to establish the kingdom of God by healing their sick souls, raising the dead in sin, and freeing those who suffered from evil possessions. It is evident that God, indeed, always intends to put our lives in order.
If young people have a distrustful impression on God, it’s probably because of two things: (a) those that God entrusted to establish the said Kingdom have not done good enough to turn God’s kingdom into a reality, or (b) God’s messengers have done their part, but people have simply ignore them.
To the students who said that they doubted God’s existence, I asked if they went to Sunday masses regularly. They said, no. I further asked, ‘what about your parents?’ ‘Neither,’ they replied.
God, no doubt, is merciful. But Saint Augustine once said: He who created us without our help would not save us without our consent. Therefore, human cooperation is indispensable for our salvation and for the restoration of humanity in general.
Source – Bible Diary 2020
