Even through Joseph’s fears, God’s will, his history and his plan were at work. Joseph, then, teaches us that faith in God includes believing that he can work even through our fears, our frailties and our weaknesses. He also teaches us that amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course. At times, we want to be in complete control, yet God always sees the bigger picture
On a slightly different note, I meant to post a traditio yesterday. Obviously, I did not. What I was going to write was prompted by the book I am using this Lent: Trevor Hudson's Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days. The scripture verse for Day 15 (yesterday) was Matthew 5:9' "Blessed are the peacemakers."
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the world seemingly on the brink of a large scale war, peace seems far away and perhaps even unachievable. I think this gets back to trusting "the Lord to steer of course," especially in light of the reality that these events are not in my control or yours.
As Trevor notes:
Despite constant talk of the value of peace, we find very little in this world. Both our public and personal lives reflect our tragic lack of peace—spiraling cycles of violence, unhealthy addictions, and destructive tensions that divide families, communities, and countries. We are far better at loving the idea of peace than at making peace within the realities of our lives (28)Ironically, obtaining peace requires a struggle, what Saint Paul referred to as an agon.
How to be a peacemaker? Well, in the words of the hymn: "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." For Lent, I broke out my CD (remember those?) of Tom Jones' album Praise & Blame. Our traditio, albeit late for this week, is Sir Tom Jones singing a song written by Bob Dylan: "What Good Am I?" It's from Praise & Blame. I think this song is about how to be a peacemaker, which is what it means to be a Christian.
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