Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
In today’s first lectionary reading from Ezekiel 47, when the angel took Ezekiel back to the temple entrance,
water was trickling. After the angel measured off a distance, the water was ankle-deep. Another measure, knee-deep. Another measure, waist-high; another measure, it had turned into a river.
God’s goodness can feel that way as well… starting off small, then, as we open ourselves up and become more receptive to His grace, we find ourselves awash in love so strong and overpowering that it’s like nothing we’ve ever known before, even if we thought we had embraced Him before. Sometimes it’s an angel who opens the spigots to the greater outpouring… sometimes it’s the study of scripture or Sacred Tradition… sometimes it’s someone in our lives.
Consider the case of the sick man in today’s Gospel reading from John 5. His physical ailments were cured, but his concern for himself was greater than his gratitude. Amid questioning by the authorities about the healing taking place on the sabbath, he was unwilling or unable to simply slip away as Jesus had. The man was still healed. But I suspect he felt the spigot of grace in his soul slow down to a trickle, just as we do when we focus on potential consequences of following the Lord in this world, rather than on the joy it brings us. May we continually open ourselves and our souls… and go with His flow.
