Day 173 Discerning God's Presence

The gospels are filled with examples of God's presence. Remember the story of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth? There he read from Isaiah:

   The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
   for he has anointed me
   to bring good news to the afflicted.
   He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
   captives, sight to the blind,
   to let the oppressed go free,
   to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19)
 
After reading these words Jesus said, "This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening." 

Suddenly, it became clear that the afflicted, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed are not people somewhere outside of the synagogue who someday will be liberated: they are the people who are listening. 

And it is in the listening that God becomes present and heals.  

The Word of God isn't a word to apply in our daily lives at some later date--it is a word to heal us through and in our listening here and now.

How does God come to me as I listen to the word? Where do I discern the healing hand of God touching me through the word? How are my sadness, my grief, and my mourning being transformed at this very moment? Do I sense the fire of God's love purifying my heart and giving me new life? 

These questions lead us to the sacrament of the word, the sacred place of God's real presence now.