Hope, Fearlessness and Unstoppable Love

-

God's unstoppable love, poured out in Christ, is the foundation for our Christian hope and fearlessness before the evils of this world. Like a mighty river, God's love cannot be stopped.

The first reading (Is 42:1-7) is taken from what most scholars refer to as “Second Isaiah.” Its prophetic writings are addressed to the Jewish people living as captive exiles in Babylon. Today's word offers hope of deliverance and the victory of justice through God's servant:

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations...”

This servant, upheld by God's hand, has been called in victory to bring light to the world, and hope to those imprisoned by the darkness of sin and evil:

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

David, writing five hundred years before Isaiah's prophecies were uttered, knows the victory that follows from being upheld as God's servant. In Psalm 27 (27:1, 2, 3, 13-14) David proclaims his absolute confidence in God:

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?

David is fearless, even when surrounded by enemies who seek his life, and calls his hearers to trust in God's deliverance:“wait on the Lord with courage, be stouthearted and wait on the Lord.” Every Christian can find comfort and courage in the words of this psalm. The Lord Jesus would have heard it chanted many times in the synagogue, and in His own home, growing up with Mary and Joseph. Jesus is the fulfillment of its message, just as He fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of God's servant who brings justice, light and hope to the world. We share in His victory by our baptism, and in Him we have hope in the Father's love which upholds us in all circumstances.

Today's Gospel (Jn 12:1-11) tells the story of Jesus' visit to Martha, Mary and Lazarus at Bethany, just a few kilometres east of Jerusalem, “six days before Passover.” Jesus' time is approaching. The Chief Priests want to kill him along with Lazarus whom He raised, “because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Jesus knows what awaits Him at Passover, yet He is not afraid. The Father upholds Him, His beloved Servant, Servant of the World, Light of the Father's love to the nations. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

Come Holy Spirit, be my strength against the worldly voices of fear and discouragement that war against Your gift of Christian Hope within me. Let Your word take root more fully in my heart and soul today, that I may walk with confidence in the Father's victory of love for us in Christ. I make this prayer to You in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Link to readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041122.cfm

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Spirit sets us free

-
Today's readings present a freedom that only God can give. This freedom does not make sense to the carnal mind that outwardly defines us by worldly accomplishments, possessions and prestige. The freedom of God's Spirit, poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5), defines us from within. The Gospel reading ( Jn 3:7b-15 ) presents Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, a Pharisee and secret believer in Jesus. Jesus tells him, “You must be born from above.” The Lord continues: “ The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jesus, the Son of Man, must be “lifted up”, “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert... so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” The Holy Spirit, like the wind, blows where it wills – the Holy Spirit is free! The first reading ( Acts 4:32-37 ) tells us somethi...
Read more

Tuesday, Octave of Easter: I have seen the Lord!

-
 For eight days the Church celebrates the Octave of Easter. This makes the Easter solemnity (the most important of feasts of the Church year are solemnities) an eight day celebration, from Sunday to Sunday. Today's Gospel tells the story of Mary Magdalen's encounter with the Risen Jesus. She runs to Him and hugs Him. This is not just a spiritual experience; He is truly risen in His glorified body. Mary has been looking for Jesus in a tomb, among the dead. But Jesus is risen and among the living. This is the Easter Jesus we believe in. He is risen in the flesh and among us in the power of His Spirit. There is a longstanding tradition that Mary Magdalen, her sister Martha and brother were expelled from Palestine after Jesus' resurrection, set adrift in a boat on the open seas, landing in France. There, they witnessed to the Risen Jesus, establishing communities of believers in various parts of the country.* Nothing can stop the power of the Risen Christ when we have yielde...
Read more

But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. (Is 53:6)

-
 Today's Good Friday readings begin with Isaiah's fourth suffering servant song. It is a powerful prophetic testimony to the sufferings that will be endured by Jesus, Who takes upon Himself our sins to make us righteous before the Father. The word tells us, “ He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. ...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.  Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divid...
Read more