11 December 2014 - what we don't see

From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 

The enemies of the Kingdom have power to kill the body. They have power over those "who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (cf. Heb. 2:15). It is a difficult fear to see beyond. Even when we don't think that death is what we are afraid of it still hits us in small ways. Fear of change, of loss, and of failure are all symptoms of the fear of death. Power to kill the body seems almost like absolute power. It is the power to end life in the only form we know it. To transcend this fear and enter the kingdom requires hope because "if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance" (cf. Rom. 8:25). If we can't hope for what we do not see we are quickly turned aside by the sufferings which are all too obvious.

John the Baptist is the greatest person ever to live prior to the Kingdom. Even though he is a prophet and proclaims that which is to come he is still very tied to what he sees. When he is imprisoned and Jesus isn't quickly fulfilling the messianic expectations of the peoples John begins to question. Jesus responds to his disciples in this way: "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor" (cf. Luk. 7:22). In this way, he helps John to trust in what someone else has seen rather than his own limited perspective. He is transitioning from trust in what is seen to hoping for what he does not see. It is ultimately this hope that sustains him when he offers his life as a martyr for God.

There will come a time when we see and know for ourselves:

That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

But we to see it we must persevere through the violence of the enemy. We must persist through the hardships of life.

The LORD answers us. He does not forsake us. He opens up the rivers of the water of life on the the bare heights fountains of life in broad valleys for us to drink. His Spirit descends like the dew, turning the desert into a marshland, and his Precious Blood makes dry ground into springs of water. We become trees along this fertile river, growing in the joy of the LORD.

If we look around us and see a desert we should still trust in this promise. We must have a hope in the promise of God which is stronger than any suffering the world can throw at us. "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17).

This morning the LORD will "grasp your right hand" and says "Fear not, I will help you." As we hear this, don't we feel our hope becoming more and more solid? It is not just a vision in the distance but a reality that gives us strength.

He has been faithful before and he will be faithful again. Even now we give thanks, knowing that he is faithful to every promise he makes. We give thanks to Jesus who is himself the "Yes" to all God's promises (cf. 2 Cor. 1:20).

Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.