Daily Reading for December 1 • St. Andrew the Apostle (transferred)
To follow a God who moves and who expects us to move with him is a risky undertaking. It means not playing safe, and it asks for confidence in God’s hidden purposes. In the wilderness at Massah the people of Israel berated the God whom they felt had abandoned them and let them down; they grumbled and tested him as they demanded, ‘Is God amongst us or not?’ It is difficult not to feel sympathy for them, for how often when things are going badly have we not asked precisely the same question: Where is God in all of this? I so often find myself asking:
‘Is God in this or not?’
Can I find God in this apparently unlikely place?
Is God here in these frightening circumstances?
How can I find him in situations of loss, betrayal, depression?
Is he here in times of disappointment and uncertainty?
The commitment, and often the courage, that is needed to place one foot after another each of us knows in our own peculiar circumstances. Without the sense of the support and presence of Christ the journey is impossible. If we are to make the journey of our lives with a sense of his presence with us we should try to hold onto the promise that in the end good will triumph over evil and light over darkness. For this Christ mysteriously present at every step of the way is not only the Way, but also the Truth and the Life. These are three interconnected realities. He is the way because he teaches the truth, and that truth will lead to life.
From Lost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness by Esther de Waal (Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 2003).