Fulfilment of the promise

Isa 25:6-10a

“On this mountain, for all peoples, Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines. On this mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall enveloping all nations; he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people’s shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken. And on that day, it will be said, ‘Look, this is our God, in him we put our hope that he should save us, this is Yahweh, we put our hope in him. Let us exult and rejoice since he has saved us.’ For Yahweh’s hand will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trodden under his feet as straw is trodden into the dung-heap”.

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The simple hearts

Lk 10:21-24

In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Read More

The simple hearts

Lk 10:21-24

In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Read More

Predispositions for real peace

Isa 2:1-5

“The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It will happen in the final days that the mountain of Yahweh’s house will rise higher than the mountains and tower above the heights. Then all the nations will stream to it, many peoples will come to it and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.’ For the Law will issue from Zion and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.

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You, Lord, are our Father

Is 63:16b-17.19b; 64:2b-7

After all, you are our Father. If Abraham will not own us, if Israel will not acknowledge us, you, Lord, are our Father, ‘Our Redeemer’ is your name from of old. Why, Lord, do you let us wander from your ways and let our hearts grow too hard to fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. We have long been like those you do not rule, people who do not bear your name. Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down — in your presence the mountains would quake.

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WHAT SHALL I RENDER TO THE LORD?

“What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?” (Ps 116:12).

If we were to meditate on these words of the Psalm and try to answer the question posed here, we would realise that it is impossible to repay our Father – not even remotely – for all His immeasurable love and care for us. It is always we who are honoured and blessed by Him! Even if we loved God with all our heart, His love would still be greater.

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YET, O LORD, THOU ART OUR FATHER

“Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father” (Is 64:8).

What deep trust is reflected in these words! We will understand them even better if we read them in their full context, as we will do in tomorrow’s daily meditation.

It is the cry of a soul that recognizes its guilt and its waywardness, but does not give up and conquers the Heart of God.

In fact, it is through our trust that we can truly conquer the heart of God. Whatever happens, whatever situation we find ourselves in, we always have access to this way and to this intimacy that is manifested in these words: “Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”.

Can or will our Father resist this trust? No! With it, we touch the depths of His Heart, where He wants to keep us, to feed us constantly with His inexhaustible love. The more we live in this trust and intimacy, activating it in the concrete situations of our lives, the more the Lord will respond, until we acquire a close and intimate relationship of love, a great light in the midst of an “unbelieving generation” (Mt 17:17) and a dark time.

“Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”.

We can take this phrase as a companion on our journey, not only in those moments when we confess our deviations and transgressions, as in this passage from the prophet Isaiah, but also in all our efforts to fulfill the task entrusted to us in this world.

Indeed, we often find ourselves with unfinished tasks that we do not have control over and do not feel capable of overcoming. Then we should have recourse to these beautiful words: “Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father”, and I trust that you will bring all things to completion.

This maxim will help us to deepen the naturalness of our relationship with our Father and will give us wings to cooperate confidently in the Kingdom of God.