Tuesday, Memorial of St. Pius X, pope
(Judges 6)
The frank dialogue between Gideon and the Lord sounds like the script of a twentieth century play. When God assures Gideon that He is with His people, Gideon retorts cynically, if you are with us then why have we suffered so much humiliation? Actually the passage from the book of Judges read yesterday at Mass provides the reason for the lack of Israelite success. The Israelites have been unfaithful to their Covenant with God. Compromising their integrity as a people, they become easy prey to enemies.
Gideon may be talking a bit casually to God because he is not sure if the stranger before him is really the Lord. He asks for a sign which is soon given in the form of fire consuming Gideon’s sacrificial food offering. Then Gideon begins to wonder if he will have to suffer for his casualness, but God reassures him that he will be fine.
We may long to have a casual conversation with the Lord like Gideon. Why do we doubt its possibility? St. Paul will tell us that we see God face-to-face in Jesus Christ. He is present to us in the Eucharist where many around the world today are finding great solace in dialoguing with him in adoration. When we encounter him in such a way, we are likely to hear him encourage us, as he does Gideon in the reading, to take up a challenge like defending those whose plight is precarious.
