Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is
pleasing to him.” (John 8:28-29, NRSVCE)
They couldn’t hurt Jesus, not really. Oh sure, they could plot against Him, denigrate Him, even kill His physical body. But they couldn’t hurt Him, because He was doing the Father’s work, and that spiritual armor would protect Him from anything.
That’s a gift God gives us too. We may feel starved spiritually, not receiving the sacraments on a regular basis. We may be beset by worry about our physical or economic future or that of our loved ones, our country, or the world at all. These are valid concerns; we’re living in a very uncertain time without a playbook—other than Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
But those are powerful playbooks. Even more powerful is the knowledge in that quiet place in our souls that we have not been left alone. And with that, no virus or quarantine or shortage can hurt us, unless we let it.
