Brother Emmanuel has this to share about Luke 11:53-54.  He has three questions and today my answers are ‘No’, ‘Agitated’, and ‘No’.  Keep reading to see what answers you might give.

When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say. Luke 11:53–54.

Reflect, today, upon any way that you have seen this misguided tendency within your own life. If you can identify a time when you struggled with hostility toward another, look at the fruit it bore. Was God glorified through your actions? Did this leave you at peace or agitated? Were you fully objective in your thinking? Be honest with these questions and you will begin to discover the road to freedom from such obsessive thinking. God wants you to be at peace. If there is injustice, trust that our Lord will sort it out. You, for your part, must continually work to forgive, act with charity, and direct your attention to the will of God as it is gently presented to you. Morning and have a blessed day.

After reading this reflection 3 times over, I went for a walk and contemplated.  Today, I was hostile towards another person being hostile to me.  My obsessive thoughts took out much of my morning hours.  While walking, I thought.  This morning, I did not glorify God in my actions.  Because I was in my obsessive thoughts to seek justice, God was nowhere to be found.  Mind you, God is everywhere but I did not seek him.  If anything, I inched away from Him.  I became trapped in a vicious circle of verbal hostility.  Moreover, everything became subjective.  I had poor impulsive control and was left tired and agitated.  My peace also became lacking.

As I walked, I began to think about Brother’s reflection.  What if, I began with trusting in God that the injustice, God will sort out?  What if I did not seek to catch out the other person and instead began forgiving him?  Why not act with charity?  The peace will come.  There are too many angry people in this world but I would like to think there are more people that seek not to be angry people.  Therefore moving forward, I choose to trust in God in matters of this nature (and in everything, I’d say!).  There, I will find God’s peace.