Daily Gospel Reflection for March 21, 2018

Today's Gospel: John 8:31-42 As busy moms, we can sometimes feel as though we've been cast into the furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Demands are placed on us from every angle – kids, husbands, work, parish, neighbors and any number of others. We often desperately lack sleep, and perhaps even our nutrition and self-care suffer as well. Things can “heat up” around us to the point that we feel we haven’t a bit of strength or resolve left. Our patience, stamina, concentration, and even our holiness are tested to the extreme. It’s at these times that the evil one pressures us the hardest to give up and give in. Like King Nebuchadnezzar, he wants to weaken our resolve so that we turn from God and betray our faith. We may be tempted toward resentment of our loved ones, of the vows we’ve taken and the promises we’ve made. It’s possible that we succumb to defeat and fear. Fear can lead to doubt – in our own abilities and in God’s power. The three young Israelites are models for us to follow. No matter what threat was flung at them, they refused to succumb to defeat and fear. The fires of the furnace couldn’t shake them, even when it had been heated to seven times its usual temperature. What kept them from giving up and giving in was the conviction that they were sons of a Father is who all-good, all-loving and all-powerful. No threat on earth could change that. Because of the Father’s love for them, they were free from any threat no matter how frightening. You may feel as though you’re being tested beyond your capacity, with the gaping mouth of the furnace before you. Don’t be tempted to worship the golden calf by abandoning your God-given mission. Surrender yourself to the Father’s love just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, and you’ll remain completely unscathed.