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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Jesus is both God and Man. God is both One and Three. These theological mysteries of our faith, where seemingly impossible things go together, continue a pattern of more immediate, personal mysteries that many of the heroes in our Scriptures were asked to embrace. Before the burning bush, Moses asked the Lord, “Why send me to convince Pharaoh, when I am such a poor speaker?” At the Annunciation, Mary replied to the angel, “How can I give birth to the Messiah since I am a virgin?”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
A sunrise or a sunset over still water. The silence before a symphony begins. A child laughing in sleep. A blessing whispered from the deathbed. These are moments that do not ask to be explained. Only received. These are not events to be intervened, but mysteries to be knelt before. The Transfiguration is one such moment. The mountain is where the veil thins, where the ordinary gives way. “Mountains in Scripture are never destinations, they are thresholds. From Sinai to Tabor, they are where God speaks so we can descend changed. The climb is not about escape, but a preparation for everything waiting below.”
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” This is an old saying that expresses the suffering and difficulties that leaders can endure. In each of today’s Scripture readings we see an important leader of God’s people go through a different kind of trial. In the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we hear yet another “grumbling story,” where the people Israel speak rebelliously against God and His servant Moses. Today’s scene, in fact, represents quite an escalation in this dynamic, for here we see not simply an unnamed crowd of complainers, but Moses’ own sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, challenging the reality of Moses’ unique relationship with God and criticizing Moses’ decision to marry a foreigner. The sense of betrayal Moses would have felt must have been enormous.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Why pray?
Today’s first reading includes one of the more painfully honest moments in Moses’ leadership journey: “I cannot carry all these people by myself, for they are too heavy for me.” We don’t get the grand miracles, the parting of seas, or thunder from Sinai. No, today we get Moses at his wit’s end, exhausted, frustrated, and frankly, ready to resign. This might be the first recorded case of clergy or leadership burnout. This might be the most relatable passage in all of Scripture for anyone who's ever had to lead a group trip, a parish committee, or even wrangle hungry kids at dinnertime. The Israelites are in the wilderness, and what are they doing? Complaining. Loudly. “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt… the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic!” It's like someone handed them a review for their time of slavery in Egypt: “Two stars, poor working conditions, terrible boss, but the food was great.” They’re nostalgic for oppression, simply because the food there had better sauce and seasoning.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
In today’s Gospel, we see the nitty gritty reality of the Incarnation. The Eternal Son of God chose to humble Himself and be born as a man. And not just a man, but a man living in Nazareth, one of the most insignificant villages in His country. And not just a man living in Nazareth, but a manual laborer. And so, despite Jesus’ powerful teaching and wondrous miracles, the people of Nazareth disrespect Him: isn’t this man just one of us? And isn’t He even one of the more lowly ones among us? And the response of Jesus’ neighbors, when you think about it in merely human terms, actually does make some sense. I mean, before Jesus, can you think of any other great figure in history, anyone who led an important movement, who wasn’t a member of the elite class or a military figure? I can’t. And yet, here Jesus is, proclaiming that He is ushering in the Kingdom of God. Really? A carpenter? From Nazareth? Not a nobleman. Not a general.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
For many years today’s feast day was simply the Memorial of Saint Martha. Pope Francis gave a beautiful gift to the Church by changing it to the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In doing so, he changed today into a celebration of family.
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