March 26 / Third Tuesday of Lent
Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. ~ Ps 25:6
An actress is only as good as her last role. One successful litigation does not necessarily ensure the next. Asset management firms are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to say that past performance is no guarantee of future results. When it come to the spheres of human activity—the arts, medicine, law, manufacturing, finance, you name it—we cannot put too much stock in existing patterns of behavior or historical trends when planning for the future. Not so when it comes to God, however. The accumulated, iterative nature of God’s interventions in human history—the love that engendered the created world, the generosity that bestowed innumerable descendants upon Abraham, the compassion that liberated the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, the faithfulness that brought the beleaguered exiles joyfully home to Jerusalem—all these past acts serve as the basis for our trust in God’s continued goodness towards us. We have experienced God’s benevolent interventions in our own lives as well. These may sometimes occur in heroic ways—the dramatic rescue, the stunning achievement—but most often they come through the medium of human relationship, in the small ordinary acts within family settings, with friends, or colleagues, or even strangers. The home-made Valentine from a child, the moment of deep connection in a telephone conversation with a far-away friend, the sentence in a homily that sticks with us and maybe even transforms our behavior (for a few minutes, anyway), a smile from a stranger on the street that turns around a bad mood—all these are instances of God’s love and compassion in our lives, if we but open our eyes to see them.
Merciful, wonderful Lord, may I be mindful of the small instances of your divine generosity that occur in my life every day.Amen.
For today’s readings, click here.
