Dear Saints,

Today’s Gospel gives us a glimpse into humanity’s shared, desperate search for meaning and happiness. How often do we, like the man, frenetically run up to Jesus and kneel before him - that is, beg and beseech him for a favor? How often do we chase after life, thinking that if we just check this or that box, we’ll finally find contentment and satisfaction?

The truth is, we don’t need to pursue happiness. It pursues us. And not in a frantic frenzy, but under the patient, loving gaze of a father who delights in shepherding his children to full flourishing.

The challenge is that Jesus’s brand of “full flourishing” isn’t exactly what we tend to have in mind; in fact, it often requires relinquishing the very things to which we’re most attached. But before that makes us sad, and before we walk away from the whole thing, we should keep this in mind: the things that appear to be of absolute necessity from our vantage point are often nothing more than grains of sand from God’s vantage point. Something - or rather someone - much bigger and better is waiting for us. All we have to do is follow him into life.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ