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Gaining deep strength: Through God

	Word to Life  Jean Denton

The Manhattan restaurant was packed with customers enjoying a fine dining experience before hurrying on to the theater for an evening show.

Suddenly the excited hum of the atmosphere was silenced by the angry shouts of a customer. All eyes turned to the 20-year-old waiter stoically enduring the loud, blistering complaint of a woman jabbing her finger in the air at him. This was the worst service she'd ever seen; she was going to be late! The young waiter's face reddened as he apologized.

The manager intervened and later assured the waiter he'd done nothing wrong. The young man was embarrassed. It ruined his day, but not his life.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007) Jeremiah 17:5-8 Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Luke 6:17, 20-26

Luckily, he'd learned from a similar experience years before in high school. His baseball team was slumping, and the coach regularly rebuked the players for lacking talent. When practice began to conflict with rehearsals for the school musical, the boy asked to leave practice early. The coach refused, but not before uttering a few snide comments about participating in theater.

But the boy knew what was in his own heart. He was directing the music he'd composed for this play, which was written by a fellow student.

He spoke respectfully to his coach. He thanked him, said he appreciated the experience, and regretted that he had to quit because of the conflict.

The coach's response was to say nothing at all, snatch his uniform from his hands, and yell at another player that he had a better shirt for him now.

The musical, however, was an exhilarating, fulfilling success. In the excitement, the baseball experience quickly faded. What the coach said or thought didn't matter.

Failure, isolation, hurt, insults. They force our deepest search for strength and assurance.

This weekend's first reading explains that human beings' capacity to provide understanding or acceptance is shallow. True, deep strength will be found only through the one who created us.

	Reflection questions • When have you endured pain or insult that has forced you to look beyond human strength for assurance of your worth and dignity? • How have such experiences deepened your reliance on God?

In the Gospel, Jesus' Beatitudes tell us not that we must be poor to have the kingdom of God or that we must be hungry to be filled. He is telling us that when we are poor and alone, and when we are hungry - or sorrowing or insulted - is when we find God.

Finding God, we come to the core meaning of our lives.

This column is presented in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.