Dear Fathers, Friends in Christ,
Micah 6:1-4, 6-8
Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
Matthew 12:38-42
"Walk humbly with your God"
These words from today's first reading are packed with meaning. What does it mean to "walk humbly with your God"?
First let's look at the word "walk." It implies that you are not running and hurrying to get somewhere, but you're not standing still either. You are going forward together with God, walking along, progressing at God's pace, proceeding peacefully.
Not only that, you're walking together with God! Imagine that! The word "with" implies that you're walking as friends--as a couple of good friends who set out to take a walk, enjoying each other's company, perhaps conversing as you walk along.
Note that as you walk together, God is not ahead of you, with you running to catch up with Him. Nor is He walking behind you because you've dashed out ahead of Him. It's God who sets your walking pace. You just keep pace with God. Remember, you are together "with your God." It's the two of you, walking together. What an awesome gift indeed!
This gift demands humility. To walk "humbly" with God means that you see yourself as you really are, including your faults (and we all have them). It means that you repent of your sins, and try to do better. So, when we walk with God, we pray for a repentant heart.
May we all learn, day by day, to walk humbly with our God!
Lord, teach me how to walk humbly with You! Help me to keep "in step" with You, not getting ahead of You, and not lagging behind. Let me see myself as You see me, repent of my sins, and learn true humility. And may we arrive, together, at the right time, at the right destination. Amen.
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church/Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo Australia
For those who died on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 RIP