When I was small and Dad would get angry, at times I heard him say: "Well, I don’t need anybody; I was born alone!" Unfortunately, sometimes I don’t know how to keep quiet, and one day I challenged him and asked him, "Well, if it was so, where was your mother during your birth?, where was the sage woman?, where was God …? And I continued to name people who were present the day he was born. You can imagine how that conversation ended. In this world we are NEVER alone. God is faithful and always fulfils his promises. Jesus made us several promises and among them we see in the Gospel of Saint Matthew: "And know that I am with you every day until the end of time" (Mt 28.20). St. Teresa of Avila reminds us that "Jesus has no other body on earth than yours". God uses other people as instruments in our lives, and that way He fulfils his promises.
While reading the Sunday readings for this month, a point kept appearing: GOD IS FAITHFUL. He never fails us, never leaves our side and lets us fight on our own. He always places on our way proofs of all this. See the promises that surround the birth of our Savior, Jesus. So many times, the humanity of some of the people that God chose could have ended with everything, but He was with them at each step, moving obstacles, talking by means of dreams, etc. He is persistent through his acts and messages. The only thing He asks for is that we have faith in Him. A sentence that Mom always used to say to me, and that I have adopted in my life is: God knows why he does things. Have faith in Him.
We as human beings cannot fully understand what the Fidelity of God means, and many times, we do not see how He acts. We let ourselves be led by our uncertainty and our own desires. We are accustomed to control our surroundings, and that causes doubts, questions, anxiety because it requires that we accept help, and we feel that we depend on others. An excellent example is St. Joseph. How many times was he afraid and did not trust, until God had to talk to him to calm his anxiety? He couldn’t see beyond the obstacles that surrounded him.
During the most difficult moments, the fidelity of God is evident. If we don’t open ourselves to accept that we cannot do things on our own, we won’t see the hand of God acting. During this month that we have to read about God’s great promises that have been fulfilled, let’s meditate on these questions: Where do I see the hand of God acting in my life? Who or what are the instruments that God has placed on my way so that I know that He has not forgotten me. How is God calling me to serve as instrument for others?
Johnston is intercultural program specialist for diocesan Parish & Clergy Services’ Office of Cultural Diversity.
