Yesterday, while preparing for today’s homily, I read a wonderful reflection on today’s first reading. It was written by a retired woman by the name of Eileen Wirth. For years she was a journalist and then taught at Creighton University in Nebraska. Now she is retired but not without purpose in her life.
She began her reflection with the verse: “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I am that I should go to Pharoah and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.’ God answered, ‘I will be with you.’”
God’s Confidence and His Promise
Mrs. Wirth goes on to say that “God has a job for each of us, and He’ll help us do it.” In this reading from Exodus, God both commissions and makes a promise to the incredulous and hesitant Moses. By His commission, God is showing His confidence in Moses to get the job done but not alone, for God promises to be with him throughout it all.
Mrs. Wirth drew a connection between this passage and retirees. First, she says that being retired allows a person to make choices they never could when raising children and/or working outside of the home. She also points out that when you reach a certain stage of life, it may seem God has run out of assignments for you. But He hasn’t, and she’s pretty sure it doesn’t include binge-watching reruns of your favorite TV sit-coms.
Make it a Good Day
Her experience, and I’m sure one that you can relate to, is that we feel good about how we spent a day when it included helping others. But to do this, we need to listen to God, who often calls us to help in different ways than before. There are all sorts of ways that God can get through to us, including in church bulletins where we find invitations to lend a hand in a myriad of ways.
Mrs. Wirth encourages us to take a chance and trust God. She talked about helping at a local food pantry where she spoke to people battling addictions and working on “getting clean and sober.” She also mentioned that God assigns her to help people she’s known for years, like a friend who now has dementia, and that she takes her to exotic places like the supermarket or for a coffee just to spend time together.
There’s Something in Store for You
So, whether you are retired, working, or looking for work, God invites each of us to come closer and listen to Him and what He has in store for us. Like Moses, we may be hesitant, but this is when we need to remember God’s words, “I will be with you.”
May God bless you and your families this holy day, and may we see today’s episodes as invitations from God to serve others in His Name.
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