On the third day of this Novena, with the gospel passage of Jesus not only calling upon the tax-collector, Levi, to follow him, Lizzie Petticrew attends to the apparent disjointing experiences of life: We are supposed to be righteous but Jesus likes to eat with those who aren’t; we trust in a God who is supposed to save us, but our God doesn’t come to our rescue in the ways we want.
With the prophet Isaiah, Lizzie seeks to see how light rises out of darkness, how straight questions foster straight answers, how honesty and openness permit the slow work of God’s response to us. Levi provides the personal mirror of someone who could make a new life choice, face the negative powers, and convert from oppressive behaviors to just ones. This does not happen in the void of secrecy and suppression. Standing on honesty, it’s a personal encounter with the One who turns life around.