25th Sunday – Let us renew our commitment to seek the Lord

On this 25th Sunday in Ordinary time, through the prophet Isaiah and the
Apostle Paul, the Word of God reminds us of the timeless truth that we must
seek the Lord while He may be found and turn to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
Isaiah’s words still resonate with us in our modern day. He emphasizes the
urgency of our relationship with God and urges us to seek the Lord while He is
near. He tells us that the scoundrel should forsake his ways and the wicked his
thoughts. It is a call to repentance – to turn away from our sins, and to embrace
the mercy and forgiveness of our generous God. We are invited to let go of our
limited thoughts and ways and embrace the higher thoughts and ways of the
Lord.
Isaiah also reminds us that God’s thoughts are not ours, and His ways are
not ours. The vastness of the heavens above the earth illustrates the
immeasurable difference between God’s wisdom and our limited understanding.
This recognition humbles us and calls us to seek God’s higher thoughts and
ways, allowing Him to guide our lives.
In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul echoes this sentiment by proclaiming
that for him, life is Christ, and death is gain. He understood that his entire
existence was centered on Christ and was willing to magnify the Lord in his body,
whether through life or death. St. Paul’s example challenges us to place Christ at
the center of our lives and find our ultimate fulfillment in Him. We know that it is
not easy to turn our ways and will over to God. The distractions and temptations
of the world often pull us away from Him. However, we are called to put our trust
in God and put his Words into action throughout our daily lives. Let us remember
that seeking God is not a mere intellectual pursuit but a total surrender to His will.
It involves aligning our thoughts and ways with His divine wisdom, trusting that
His plans for us are higher and better than anything we could imagine.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we reflect on today’s readings, let us renew our
commitment to seek the Lord now, while He may be found. Let us respond to the
call of the prophet Isaiah and St. Paul and forsake our ways and thoughts and
turn to the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness. With His grace, we can align our
thoughts and ways with His and experience the abundant life that can only come
from following Him.

Fr. Dominic Toan Tran, Pastor