6 April 2016
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
We have a bizarre habit of actively fighting off what’s good for us. If you have ever seen a small child right before naptime, you know how true this is. Naps are to be fought and avoided. Even if the child is obviously tired. Even if, afterwards, the child is proud of the how good the nap was. I am reliably informed that this described me when I was little, and I’m fairly certain that each of us has done something like that. We fight what’s good. Sometimes, we even fight the One who is Good.
This is what today’s gospel accuses us of. Not just being ignorant of Jesus, but actively fighting Him off when He comes to us. There was a time for me when God’s call to religious life seemed strange, when now I wouldn’t want anything else. Sometimes, like the child struggling to avoid naptime, the things we spend the most energy fighting off in our lives are those things which God (as a good parent) knows are best for us. Today’s gospel tells us point blank that we don’t always choose our fights well. Reflecting on the things we are currently fighting off in our own lives, we may find a few places where we have actually been fighting off the light of Christ.