Daily Reflections - January 18,2013

Restless

 

The clock said 2:00 a.m. and I was still wide awake. I kept turning on my bed — I tried sleeping on my back, on my front, sideways, in lotus position — but nothing worked. I thought maybe it was my bedsheet, so I took a fresh one from my cabinet. Same result. Could it be the clothes I’m wearing? So I slipped into a new pair of pajamas and my most comfortable shirt, but to no avail. So at 3:30, I decided to visit our oratory upstairs and spent a few silent moments with the Lord. By dint of inspiration, the day that I had just had flashed before me. That was it. It was not a particularly good day for me.

I kept looking for a reason for my restlessness from without, only to discover that the reason was from something within.

In today’s First Reading, the letter to the Hebrews spoke about the people “not entering into God’s rest” (v. 3). The biblical “rest” is an allusion to the rest of Genesis 1, where it said that God rested after the work of Creation. This “rest” is not physical. God did not grow tired. The rest indicated satisfaction and fulfillment over the accomplishment of the Divine Will as indicated by the line, “and God looked at what He had created and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). The need to enter into God’s “rest” is a metaphorical way of saying that disobedience to God’s will is the reason for the chosen people’s inability to enter the Promised Land.

The Gospel for today speaks of the same. A paralytic was brought to Jesus in the hope that he would be given rest from his ailment. To their surprise, Jesus addressed the internal paralysis first, “My son, your sins are forgiven,” and only after this did he say, “Pick up your mat and go home.” Have you been losing sleep? Have you been restless lately? It’s neither your bed nor your sleepwear. Do not look for the reason from without. Look for the reason within.

Have a restful life! Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: What area of your life is in chaos and disarray and needs to be attuned to the rest of God’s will?

 

“In God alone is my soul at rest, my help comes from Him. Amen.”