Today's Thoughts...

Today’s Thoughts: In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 57: 2, 3-4, 6, 11) for today’s mass we are presented with the image of a mother bird protecting her young. She shelters them with her wings until the danger passes. But what happens once the danger passes well the children need to grow and move away from the nest until they finally take that step off the limb and fly on their own. In learning to fly they now take on the responsibility of caring for themselves and eventually having their own little ones whom they will protect.  It is the cycle of life.
 
Jesus names his twelve closest friends in the Gospel today (Mark 3:13-19). These friends embodied many of the all too human traits of life. They will reveal by their words and actions impatience, fear betrayal, doubt, misunderstanding, impetuousness, and pettiness. These will be balanced by courage, steadfastness, faithfulness, trust, goodness and purity of heart. In our words, these friends of Jesus are moving toward the end of the limb and soon they will be flying on their own. They will soon be proclaiming the good news to all the world in all their humanness. Part of the Good News that they will proclaim is mercy, the mercy of God and the mercy we need to have in living life. It not always easy to live by mercy as David finds out in the first reading (1 Samuel 24:3-21). Yet that is what we are called to as the children of God.
 
So, what is our challenge today? Perhaps it is to trust in the ongoing care and concern of God for us but also to know that through that love and care we are sent forth into the world to proclaim the Good News, a Good News grounded in the mercy a God.
 
Have a great Friday everyone.