21 March 2012

21 March 2012



"But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me."
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you."


We may feel forsaken at times.  Circumstances may be dire.  We must learn to remember that the LORD is near.  The infant must learn that its mother still exists even when she cannot be seen.  We must learn that the LORD has not forsaken us even when we cannot see his workings.


"In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you"


He meets all of our needs in Jesus.  That is why St Paul reminds us that the day of salvation is now.  He says that now is a time of great favor.  He is "near to all who call upon him," whether they see him or not.  He stands ready to lift up all who are bowed down.


"For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes."


Our problem is not that we can't find life.  Our problem is that we prefer passing things to life.  We wander in deserts and trudge up mountains when the LORD has cut a clear and well-watered path to life, with pasture along the way.  We don't see the LORD standing ready to help because we are so fixated on the things of the world.


Our own will is flawed and does not pursue life.  But Jesus is our example of a will totally surrendered to the Father.  From the Father and through this surrender he has life in himself.  He seeks the will of the one who sent him. If we surrender our will to Jesus he will give us his perfectly surrendered will and enable us to seek life along the smooth path he has prepared for us, the path we would never find following our own desires.


"Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the LORD comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted."