THE SHADOW OF TURNING

A REFLECTION FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

Last week on the Feast of Holy Cross, we learned that “As the World Turns, the Cross Stands.”  No matter what happens in life, the truths and graces that come to us from Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross remain constant and provide our only stability in this ever-spinning world.  This lesson is reinforced this week, when we read in the epistle that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

If this year we receive the same lesson on two consecutive Sundays, we should perhaps get the message to stop in our tracks for a moment and pay heed.  We need to stop!  Stop spinning with the vicissitudes of life, which, let’s face it, will never stop and which these days just seem to spin faster and faster.  Do you remember from your childhood that the closer you are to the center of a carrousel the slower you’re moving?  And conversely, if you wanted the full thrill of the ride, you would position yourself as close to the outside edge as you could.  Centrifugal force always pushes us outwards to where we spin the fastest.  Today, so many of us seem to have been pushed to the very edge of destruction by the devil, the world, and our own fallen nature, that we are frightened of falling off and into the abyss.  It’s time to push back!  We must turn around—“convert” to the true center of our lives, which can only be God.

Today, the very world itself seems to be spinning off its axis.  This global pandemic which we currently face may not be the worst disease that mankind has ever faced.  But it has certainly surpassed all others in terms of global impact.  We face not only the age-old perils of a deadly plague, but now in addition, all the “new improved” methods of avoiding infection—draconian lockdown measures, unconstitutional control of the masses, financial disaster with massive, unprecedented unemployment and all the psychological consequences that it causes.  These are all very real problems, to which we can add so many conspiracy theories about compulsory vaccines, Bill Gates, martial law, and so on, that it just makes our heads spin along with the world itself.  Again, the answer is to take a step back towards the center of this whirling mess, towards the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Only in our heavenly Father will we find peace and stability.  Only by following his two great commandments will we find the strength to practice our faith in Divine Providence, hope in salvation, and real love of God and neighbor.  So take a deep breath, focus on the still, small voice of God, and be at peace…