SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA, PRIEST AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

You are my inheritance, O Lord. 

“I’m all in.”   In a tense game of poker, a play  gains a huge payout.   But if he loses, he’s out of the game and he’s lost everything.   By going “all in,” the player chooses to take that risk.

We see this very same attitude in today’s psalm (Psalm 16: 1 – 2, 5, 7 – 10).   It is the prayer of a person who places his or her entire bet on God.   The psalmist declares that his “allotted portion” and his “inheritance” is the Lord (Psalm 16:5, 6).   Instead of hurrying to store up enough wealth to live in security, his concern lies with pleasing the Lord.   The risk is real, as we know well enough from our own temptations:   What if God doesn’t come through and provide for me?

Our first reading gives an example of this risk-taking trust: Elisha slaughtered all his oxen and gave up his entire livelihood to follow the prophet Elijah.   But the supreme example is Jesus himself.   In laying down his life, Jesus trusted completely in his Father and did not hedge his bet in any way: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46).   His prayer of trust was the culmination of the many times he had relied on his Father throughout his life.   He took refuge in God alone. And what did God do but turn his death and defeat into life and victory!

Today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you go “all in” with him.   You can have the courage to do this because Jesus already went all in with you.   In whatever situation you face today, big or small, he is already there, ready to provide for you.   So take a risk and pray with your sick child for healing, or choose to forgive and reach out to someone who has hurt you, or talk about your faith and risk being misunderstood.   God will bless your efforts and reward you. With every act of faith, your confidence in Jesus will grow.   Soon you’ll discover that you can take even bigger steps of trust.   And that is an inheritance worth betting on!

“You are my inheritance, O God.”

1 Kings 19:19-21
Matthew 5:33-37