Richard Rohr in his book The Naked Now writes that when you surrender to God, “you are in Someone Else’s grip.” What a powerful image! Scripture is replete with images showing the close unity between God and us. God and we carry the yoke together. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. During a prayer said at the Last Supper, Jesus prays, “As long as I was with them, I guarded them… I kept careful watch, and not one of them was lost.” The Twelve share Jesus’ authority to cure and expel unclean spirits. Love of God and neighbor are one and the same. We are called his mother and brothers and sisters when we do the will of God. God fosters us like “one who raises an infant to his cheeks.”
During this stressful time of disease, unemployment, anxiety of all kinds we are in Someone Else’s grip. Grab God’s hand. God will never let you go.
