Daily Thoughts: I ran across a story the other day about a boy who stumbles across a butterfly trying to emerge from the cocoon. The boy watches the butterfly struggle. At one point the butterfly seems stuck. Concerned that the butterfly might be in trouble the boy runs into the house and gets a small knife from the kitchen and returns and carefully cuts away the cocoon. The butterflly's body is swollen and its wings are all shriveled. The boy waits and watches, he expects at any moment the wings will begin to expand and the butterfly will take flight. But it never happens. Why, because the butterfly needs to struggle through the restrictive cocoon because the struggle will force fluid into the wings, giving them stability and strength so that the butterfly is ready to fly. The boy did not realize that the butterfly's freedom and flight are only possible because of the struggle and hardship it must undergo!
This little story made a lot of sense to be in light of this season of Advent and our journey of faith. We are all very much aware of the pitfalls of getting things easily in life. When we do not have to work for something while the initial feeling is good it often wears off quickly and has less meaning in our life. When we truly work for something it stay with us. When struggle, difficulty and work is involved it becomes a source of strength we draw upon at other moments. It become part of our story of life.
The great prophets like John the Baptist and Zephaniah, the great apostles like Paul understood the need to struggle, to work, to build a life. Their messages today talk about hope and life but also the struggle that is need to maintain hope and life in the face of our everyday world. They tell us it is not easy but possible. The only way we are be able to Hope in God's Promises, to Rejoice in God's Love is to work, to struggle, to live our relationship with God. It is never easy. There are always challenges, struggles, expectations, disappointments, actions of the world that make no sense or have no meaning, but God is still with us. Entering the struggle to make the presence of God known will give us stability and strength so that we can live the gift of this life and proclaim good news!
Remember as Emily Dickinson wrote, "hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings a tune without the words and never stop at all." Perhaps at no other time do we need to be like the butterfly and put everything into the living of life so that we can release the beautiful gift of hope to a saddened and struggling world. It will not be easy, but we have the Spirit in our souls that will never stop singing!
Daily Prayer: O God of Hope, you know our struggles, you know our sadness, help us to sing the tune of hope in our world silenced by violence today. Dwell in our hearts because we know it will not be easy to overcome the losses and the violence. Help us with strength to give life today the tune, the good news that never stops. never stop at all! Amen!
Runner's Thought: On your run today carry the tune of hope to a world struggle with the silence of violence!
An Extra Thought: Blessings this Third Sunday of Advent to all! here in New York it is a dark, cold and rainy looking day. Perhaps it matches the feelings of sadness, loss and grief our world is feeling. I pray that in this struggle we can release the song of hope. I am thinking of the little one who lost their life the other day, they had smiles, they laughed, they did silly things. They loved and lived life. They sang tunes. They were gifts. These things are what I want to remember about them. These things are what I want to tell the world about. These things are that thing with feathers that perches in my soul and sing a tune today! Love you kids, help us now to fine peace!
Peace in Christ's Passion, Fr. Paul
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