April 4, 2022 Saint Isidore Bishop
A very good book to read from the Hebrew Scriptures is Daniel. It has some compelling stories, and we are treated to one today, the story of Susanna. Susanna, a beautiful and God-fearing woman, was falsely accused of infidelity. She placed her faith in God and was proven innocent by the conflicting testimony of her accusers. Her faith was not misplaced. Neither is ours when firmly placed in God. Our psalm for today is probably the most famous of all 150 psalms, Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This familiar and comforting psalm promises that we will be well tended all the days of our lives. Notice that we are not promised an easy life. The psalm says that when we are in the dark valley, we can be sure that God has our back. Bad things happen—righteous Susanna is falsely accused, coming very close to being put to death. And we, too, will someday walk the dark valley of death. Yet, in John’s Gospel, Jesus declares that he is the “light of the world.” When darkness comes, and it surely will, there is a lamp to guide us, our faith in God. We need not grope.