God is closer to each of us than we can possibly ever imagine. If we look into our own hearts or into our own lives we will find God. It seems we are sometimes content to look for God elsewhere and end up disappointed.

Unfortunately some still see God as one who rewards and punishes. When things go wrong in life the explanation is that God must be testing or punishing them. Some refer to it as carrying a cross or that it must be God’s will if some tragedy occurs. Such viewpoints are deeply ingrained in an old tradition that excludes love, compassion and kindness. I have even heard it being said that God has sent the covid 19 pandemic because God is angry with us.

What sort of a God gets a kick out of misfortune and in particular the misfortune of the current pandemic? It would make our belief in a loving God absurd and crazy. It would be like pushing water constantly uphill. A pointless exercise! Thankfully Jesus in our Gospels makes it quite clear that God does not punish. God is very much in the here and now and is on our side. God loves us no matter what’s going on for us and God is not to be feared.

The psalm used for Sunday Mass at the weekend was psalm 144. In it the writer has a beautiful sense of the presence of God all around them. The writer gets across a sense of God who is close, personal, in the here and now and relevant in their life.

The following line stands out: “The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.” We often hear the words ‘fake news’ today. God’s love and compassion for each of us, is far from fake. We are comforted and consoled by God’s presence in our lives today.

I will finish with the beautiful line and the beautiful invitation that was used in our Gospel at the weekend: “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”