March 27/Tuesday of Holy Week
For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. ~ Ps 71.5-6
It is the source of endless bemusement among parents that children born of the same mother and father and raised in the same household may bear scant resemblance to one another – physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Each child has his or her own unique and inborn characteristics which no amount of instruction, training, or discipline can alter (nor should they!). Elsewhere, the psalmist affirms the divine authorship of human singularity, declaring to God in Psalm 139, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” In today’s verses, we celebrate God’s absolute rock-solid reliability from the time we were in utero until this present moment. The picture our poet draws is of an entire life dependent on God. In this sense each of us begins our existence, in the words of a contemporary biblical scholar, as “an embryo of hope.” This dependence does not perdure uninterrupted through all the stages of our lives, of course. Most of us who have embarked on the journey of faith know that it is anything but a straightforward linear progression. We zig and we zag, stop and start, backtrack and plunge forward. We may experience moments, or long periods, of doubt or indifference. While we are bouncing all over the place, however, God remains a firm, steadfast presence. Whether we grapple with the uncertainties of young adulthood, the challenges of parenthood, or the infirmities of age, we can depend on God as our strength and our hope throughout our lives.
Lord of life, As I grow and change through the years, may I gratefully acknowledge you as my unshakeable support. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032718.cfm
To hear “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4WCLlC-LLs
