On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came… The word of the Lord does not come in a vacuum but in very concrete circumstances. God’s message to us is not generic but specific. Reading the “signs of the times” is an essential aspect of any spiritual discernment. So in this year of our Lord, 2023, how does the word of the Lord challenge us? “Go out to all the world and bring the good news.” You only need to look at the numbers of those who have left the Church (ex-Catholics would be the largest denomination behind Catholics if counted as a group) to know that what we are doing is not working. The word of the Lord demands we find more effective ways of bringing good news to people. “Whatsoever you do to the least, you do unto me.” What does Jesus who in the guise of an immigrant sleeping on a sidewalk in front of a police station demands of me? “Jesus welcomed the tax collectors and sinners and ate with them.” Are we demonstrating the same kind of spirit of openness to those who feel alienated or lost as Jesus did?
