As I approach 70, I notice that weeding is a little more difficult. The ground is a buit harder on my knees, the weeds roots a bit more stubborn, & the getting back up is a bit more difficult. And pitching to my grandson is a bit more challenging & I notice it the next day or two!
In II Corinthians 4: 5-12, St. Paul reminds us that we have this treasure – God’s loving spirit, God’s Holy Spirit – in “clay jars.” Perhaps we are always fragile, perhaps we are always vulnerable, & we indeed live in challenging times. There are times when we:
may be angry
may be insulting
may be decisive
may be doubting
may be despairing
may be dark
& may be sad.
Yet, God still calls us into ministry, into living as instruments of peace. The Prayers of St. Francis invites us to sow:
love
pardon
union
faith
hope
light
& joy.
Even in these times, even in our fragile, vulnerable “clay jars.”
As we strive to be instruments of peace, we draw on the strength of God, the love of God, that can do more then we can ever do on our own. Again, from St. Paul’s letter to the people of Corinth, “we do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord & ourselves as [his] servants.”