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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Tuesday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year I, 18 July 2023 Exodus 2:1-15 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> Matthew 11:20-24
It is still too early, God our loving Father, but your words today smell so Christmassy, reminding us of Jesus Christ's coming in the story of Moses being drawn from water by the Pharaoh's daughter:
On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Exodus 2:6
Yes, dear God, your Son came as an infant, a baby, the most wondrous sight to behold in this life who can soften the most hardened heart because every child reminds us of you, O Lord, our life; every child calls us to be loving and kind because every baby reminds us of our credential as your image and likeness, dear God.
Forgive us, Father, when we close our eyes and our hearts and dare ask others of their credentials, like Moses who was asked "Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us?" (Ex.2:14); or, Jesus who lamented at how his own folks refused to recognize him as the Christ despite his wondrous words and works, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes" (Mt.11:21).
But most of all, loving Father, enable us to live up to our credentials as your beloved children, forgiven and blessed to make you known and present in this world that has turned away from you, from some people who think more of themselves in having earned their credentials and hence, be so entitled in the world.
Help us to keep our lines, our boundaries intact, of what is sacred and holy, of what is essential and true that you are our Father. Amen.
