I have a good friend in my weekly Cursillo group. He will know who he is since he reads ACM. But we will call him Matt. Matt is one of the most faithful people I know. He has read the Bible several times and not just one version. He has read it as it is written. He has read it on a timeline basis. He is currently reading the Tanach…the Jewish Bible…that includes the Torah (the first five books of Moses) and the prophets and the writings. He is never without a Catholic book that he is reading. We have known each other since we did our Cursillo weekend together almost 13 years ago. Our group will follow the formula Cursillo suggests in terms of what to share when grouping…prayer, study and action. But we also take the time to talk about how things are going in each of our lives. We all need a sympathetic ear when we are struggling and also need someone to share in our joyful moments as well.
In the time we have known each other, Matt has had his share of struggles with the loss of family members, divorce among his children and the loss of jobs periodically. Matt also has a strong history with Cursillo. While his weekend with us was his first, he has had numerous exposure to the movement through his Dad. Matt’s Dad was a big mover and shaker within Cursillo. He made his weekend and served on several teams putting on weekends for others. I am pretty sure he has also sponsored many candidates making their first weekend. But here is the kicker. Several years before Matt made his weekend, he was in the midst of what would have been, at that time, his first Cursillo weekend. His Dad was supposed to be there to work on putting the event on but he was not yet there. On his way. Then Matt got the news that would change his life, his family’s lives and those of their friends. His Dad got in a car accident on the way to the weekend and tragically passed away.
Now it would have been extremely easy for Matt to blame God, blame Cursillo, and blame those that convinced his Dad to work on that weekend retreat. But…he did not. And he has not lost his focus. God has given him a beautiful wife, children who are in close relationship to their parents and he has grandchildren who light up his life. The Lord gives and he takes away. We do not know why God does what He does. Or allows suffering to happen. As He told Job in the readings from this past week:
Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
And Job responded back after seeing the folly of questioning God and His plans and power:
Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
It is only through faith in the wisdom of God that we can accept both the blessings and the curses we receive. And it is in knowing that this life is not the end. We may suffer and we may prosper in this life. But it is all so irrelevant when we look at time through the eyes of God. Eyes that see all from the beginning to the end…at the same time. We cannot imagine what God has in store for all of us. I recall when my eldest daughter was a baby. She developed a high fever and sores on her feet and around her mouth. The doctors diagnosed Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. But in order to make the diagnosis, and also to treat her with something to help reduce the fever, he had to use needles. Now, I don’t know about your children, but mine hated needles when they were young. And they are not so crazy about them now either! So, someone had to hold her down so that the doctor could do his thing. She was not very happy with me for restraining her while some stranger inflicted pain and suffering. She could not know then that this was all necessary for her to recover. She just didn’t have that capacity. But her parents knew. And we acted in a way that was in her best interest. But, at the time, she could not see that.
This is how our God is for us. We may act as though we don’t always know this fact…that GOD ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING!! And the beauty of having that epiphany is that we do not have to take all this worry on our shoulders. God is there and happy to run things. As fellow ACM writer, Bob Burford, wrote several years ago when doing a reflection on this reading…GOD IS IN CHARGE!! God gives and takes away. But my heart will choose to say…Blessed Be Your Name. Blessed Be Your Glorious Name.
