“Not in Thunder, But in Tenderness”- Feast of St. Vincent de Paul

Readings 092725

This past week, there was a quiet buzz in the Bible Belt.
Evangelical Christians were waiting for “the Rapture.”
Three days of darkness, they said. Then, on September 23rd and 24th, the faithful would be swept away.

I’m not exactly sure who believed it.
I live among Evangelicals. They are my neighbors, my friends, my community.
But there were no mass absences from work.
No children kept home from school.
No empty pews or panicked prayers.

I did get stuck in a traffic jam on the interstate—an accident, not ascension.
The drivers weren’t called up into heaven.
They were just late, like the rest of us.

And I wonder…
If there were a rapture,
how many who expect to be lifted
might find themselves still standing on the ground?

But Scripture doesn’t point us to fear.
It points us to presence.

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you,” says the Lord.
Zechariah’s words are not a warning.
They are a wedding invitation.

God does not save from afar.
He surrounds us like a wall of fire.
He enters our world through the Incarnation.
He stays.

In Christ, God dwells among us—
not in spectacle,
but in mercy.
Not in vanishing,
but in abiding.

We are not called to count down dates.
We are called to prepare our hearts.
To live the Gospel.
To remain watchful—not for a sudden escape,
but for Christ Himself.

He comes quietly—
in the face of the suffering,
in the cry of the hungry,
in the silence of prayer.

Jesus says, “Pay attention to what I am telling you.”
And Zechariah echoes, “Sing and rejoice!”

To follow Christ is to be attentive and joyful—
even in mystery.

St. Vincent reminds us:
God dwells among us.
Not in thunder, but in tenderness.
Not in escape, but in embrace.

Our Savior destroyed death and brought life to light—
not through fear,
but through love.

So today, let us rejoice.
Let us serve.
Let us be the glory in the midst of others,
as Christ is in ours.

Amen.

Prayer: “God of Presence”

Lord Jesus,
You do not come in thunder,
but in tenderness.
Not to vanish us from this world,
but to dwell within it.

Teach us to see You,
to serve You,
to rejoice in You.

Make our lives a dwelling place,
where mercy is known,
and love is lived.

Amen.