It was always a family adventure when we went to the beach. After walking through the hot sand with all our gear, we found ingenious ways to amuse ourselves between mad dashes into the cooling waves of Lake Michigan. While Mom and Dad laughed with friends, our local gang made sand castles, flipped the frisbee, and took turns burying each other in the sand. Those lazy days were so sweet, much as the psalmist imagines.
One hot August day, our neighbor Kevin disappeared into the crowd. It was a while before anyone realized he was missing. We were panicked as we fanned out across the wide beach to find him. After what seemed like an eternity we spied him up by the boathouse, chatting up the lifeguards who were on break. Relief!
All of this came to mind while pondering today’s gospel. Is there a “lost one” in my life whom I should reach out to today? Or, to turn the tables, are their family and friends trying to reach out to me…and do I run away or can I let them in?
—the Jesuit prayer team