Reflection
Did you pay attention to this first reading today from the prophet Habakkuk? Wow!! Just focusing on today’s first reading, Habakkuk just really lays it out there. Crying out to the Lord about the violence and destruction, he accuses the Lord of not listening.
Pushing further, he alleges the Lord failed to intervene amidst the strife and clamorous discord. While reading this, my mind replays thousands of images of our world’s current situation. Our daily news bombards our senses with images of violent destruction, people who are helpless, the injustice of humanity, which leads to more suffering, especially innocent children. Habakkuk is a prophet who lived 2500 years ago, yet still sends a chill down my spine. Was he writing about his time, or was he speaking about today’s reality?
Over six hundred years before Jesus was born, idolatry and injustice were common themes. The nation of Babylon, rising in power and military might, pressed in upon the southern kingdom of Israel, where the glory of Jerusalem was eroding.
Habakkuk’s struggle is about believing God’s message when there is so much evil and tragedy in the world. He wrestled with God around this big question, why does God allow this to happen?
Similar spiritual struggles probably shape our life’s questions today. Using a literary genre of lament, Habakkuk begins naming issue after issue, demanding that the Lord do something about the situation to alleviate suffering and injustice in the world. You can hear the frustration and plea in his words.
Habakkuk’s rant isn’t met with silence. The Lord does respond. But if you listen carefully, the response doesn’t really address Habakkuk’s deep concern. Did the Lord’s response even make sense to Habakkuk? And then he is told, “Write down the vision.” Like all of the laments in the book of the prophet Habakkuk, he never gets the answer that he is looking for. This is a vital lesson.
It’s important to understand that the Lord never promises to fix every situation or make everyone happy. Scripture gives us a consistent message. This message we often know in our minds but struggle to accept in our hearts: the Lord is God, and we are not. I often hear people say, “God really smiled on me,” when something good happens. But that kind of thinking falls apart when things don’t go as hoped. Just because life doesn’t go our way doesn’t mean God loves us any less.
Personally speaking, when I forget this truth, I find myself out of balance. I am certain this is true for every human being. What brings me back into a better framework is to remind myself of the elements of God’s covenant to us, beginning with the truths of our baptism, eucharist and the sacraments.
Our baptism assures us we have a place in the kingdom.
Eucharist assures us we have a place at the table.
The sacraments perpetually surround us with grace.
These moments of grace may seem simple, but they should never be overlooked. When I truly appreciate my place within God’s covenant, it becomes easier to accept that God’s Will may not always align with mine. But that doesn’t mean God’s grace is absent—far from it. Since no one can change God’s will, the only thing we can do is adjust our own. Remember, The Lord is God, and we are not. The voice of the prophet Habakkuk rings loud in our world today.
