Prove It
My daughter is taking Geometry. Hearing her talk about homework and tests throughout the school year, I was reminded of geometric proofs. Remember those days? Our grade depended on proving why two triangles were congruent. To sum it up, there are a subset of geometry rules that can take us from known facts to proven conclusions. That is what a proof does. Given the facts, we know a specific conclusion to be true.
This past Holy Week, Triduum and Easter have proved again God’s incredible love for us. The events on those days have proven to me the plan God had when He sent his only begotten son. The fulfillment of Messianic prophecy found in the Old Testament. The Last Supper. The parallels of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Garden of Eden. The Cross. The Resurrection! Alleluia!
The list of events, these facts, that happened are the proof for God’s endless love. All the pain, all the suffering for Jesus, Mary, and those close to Jesus, all of it was done to prove to me, and to you, that there is no stopping God. He conquers all. He did. He does. And He will continue to.
Unlike a Geometry proof, there are many steps or events in Jesus’ history that appear downright incomprehensible or unjustified. They are too great to comprehend: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.” (John 20:30) And there is too much suffering to humanly justify: “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
What a great inequality of love - ours compared to His! This great inequality is the Good News that Jesus has the Heart of the Good Shepherd who will leave behind the 99 to go in search of the one lost sheep. This is proof that God’s ways are not our ways. This is the amazing reality that God doesn’t love us because we’re so good, but because He’s so good. He loves us not because we deserve it but because we desperately need it. This is the very definition of mercy.
No matter if you’re basking in this Easter Glory and able to shout Alleluia, or if you’re experiencing a heavy lift in this time of life and barely able to emit an audible Alleluia, know that God’s love is like water, which always goes to the lowest spot, and God’s love is always flowing!
Every day we’re a bit like a prodigal child. Sometimes we drift a little or sometimes we drift a lot from God’s gaze. May we be reminded of God’s Divine Mercy as we celebrate it this weekend at Mass. May we be living proof of God’s mercy working in our lives. May we trust in His endless love and mercy for us, even though it’s such a mathematical inequality! And know that it is proof of His unconditional love for us.
