YAHWEH's Maternal Love For HIS People

 "This is what YAHWEH says:

'At a favorable time, I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been your help; I have formed you and made you to be MY Covenant with the people.

You will restore the land and allot its abandoned farms.  You will say to the captives: Come out; and to those in darkness: Show yourselves.

They will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills.  They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for HE who has mercy on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water.

I will turn all MY mountains into roads and raise up MY highways.

See, they come from afar, some from the north and west, others from the land of Sinim.'

Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth;

break forth into song, O mountains:

for YAHWEH has comforted HIS people

and taken pity on those who are afflicted.

But Zion said: 'YAHWEH has forsaken me,

my LORD has forgotten me.'

Can a woman forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child of her womb?

Yet though she forgot, I will never forget you." - Isaiah 49:8-15

(HE saves them from despair and from being despised, rebuilding Jerusalem and gathering those who were dispersed.  HE invites all the nations to come and recognize the true city.

Here GOD again addresses the more conscious minorities of Israel, those who held onto their hope at a time they seemed to be lost amidst the pagan inhabitants of the materialistic Babylon.  They would lift up their nation and become the light of the world.

These promises started to be fulfilled when, having returned to their land, the Jews became missionaries of the One GOD to all the countries of the Greek and Syrian world.  Later, these promises would take on a new meaning for the Church which CHRIST established as the New Jerusalem.  At times, the new Jerusalem seems downhearted and lifeless, and even disappears in some parts of the world.  Yet, GOD brings it new children from other continents.  HE invites us to look beyond our communities to those who have not yet received the Kingdom.)

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The River That Flows From The Temple

"The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the temple and flowing eastward.  The temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the temple, from the south side of the altar.  He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside, to the outer gate facing the east; and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand.  As he went towards the east, he measured off a thousand cubits; and led me across the water which was up to my ankles.  He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water, which came to my knees.  He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water, which was up to my waist.  When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent, for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, 'Son of man, did you see?'  He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river.  There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river.  He said to me, 'This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.  Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful; and the seawater will become fresh.  Wherever it flows, life will abound.

Near the river on both banks, there will be all kinds of fruit trees, with foliage that will not wither; and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop, because the water comes from the temple.  The fruit will be good to eat, and the leaves will be used for healing." - Ezekiel 47:1-9. 12 

(Note the vision of the river which makes the land fruitful and starts from the place where GOD is present.  The invisible GOD manifests HIMSELF in the life which HE gives to people.  The Holy Spirit, imaged in the stream of living water [see John 7:38], makes all the seeds of life blossom again in the world.

The stream flows to the Salt Sea or the Dead Sea.  [Its waters are so salty that there are no fish.  No plants can grow on the shores.]  This serves as an image of the healing that GOD brings to a world, sterile because of its sins.  The fruit will be good to eat, and the leaves will be used for healing.)

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A New Heaven And A New Earth

"I now create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind again.

Be glad forever and rejoice in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight.  I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in MY people.

The sound of distress and the voice of weeping will not be heard in it anymore.

You will no longer know of dead children or of adults who do not live out a lifetime.  One who reaches a hundred years will have died a mere youth, but one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant crops and eat their fruit." - Isaiah 65:17-21 

(No one could imagine the new heaven prepared for us by GOD [Mark 12:18].  Let us rejoice that the prophet has described it in such a concrete way.  For us the happiness of the "beyond" is part of our faith; but at this time it was not yet clear neither for the Jews nor the prophet.  GOD rewarded people while on earth and they preferred not to think about the lot of those already dead, or who would die before the time of happiness had come.  GOD did everything so that HIS people would not neglect their earthly duties on the pretext of waiting for a "beyond.")

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The Lost Sheep

"What do you think of this?  If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?  And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost.  It is the same with your FATHER in heaven: there they don't want even one of these little ones to be lost." - Matthew 18:12-14 

(The parable of the one hundred sheep is also found in the Gospel of Luke [15:1].  It teaches us several things: JESUS special concern for sinners and those who stray and, therefore, the missionary dimension of HIS apostolate.  In fact, JESUS came "to seek and save the lost" [Luke 19:10], "to call the outcasts, not the respectable people" [Matthew 9:13].  This attitude should impel our parishes and Christian communities to constantly reach out to the unchurched and marginalized, instead of just working with those who already are in touch with the Church.) 

 

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It Is Love That I Desire, Not Sacrifice.

"Come, let us return to YAHWEH.

HE who shattered us to pieces, will heal us as well;

HE has struck us down, but HE will bind up our wounds.

Two days later HE will bring us back to life;

on the third day, HE will raise us up,

and we shall live in HIS presence.

Let us strive to know YAHWEH.

HIS coming is as certain as the dawn;

HIS judgment will burst forth like the light;

HE will come to us as showers come,

like spring rain that waters the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do with you?

O Judah, how shall I deal with you?

This love of yours is like morning mist,

like morning dew that quickly disappears.

This is why I smote you through the prophets,

and have slain you by the words of MY mouth.

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice;

It is knowledge of GOD, not burnt offerings."

- Hosea 6:1-6

(People regret their errors, but they are not so sincere to abandon their sins.  They think they will please GOD by offering a few sacrifices but are far from real love which manifests itself in obedience; they prefer to offer the costly sacrifices which they choose rather than to do what GOD asks of them.

It is love that I desire, not sacrifice.  On several occasions JESUS refuted the Pharisees by quoting this saying [see Matthew 9:13].)  

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The Greatest Commandment

"A teacher of the law had been listening to this discussion and admired how JESUS answered them.  So, he came up and asked HIM, 'Which commandment is the first of all?'

JESUS answered, 'The first is: Hear, Israel!  The LORD, our GOD, is One LORD; and you shall love the LORD, your GOD, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.  And after this comes a second commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these two.'

The teacher of the law said to HIM, 'Well spoken, Master; YOU are right when YOU say that HE is one, and there is no other besides HIM.  To loave HIM with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to loave our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.'

JESUS approved this answer and said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of GOD.'  And after that, no one dared to ask HIM any more questions." - Mark 12:28-34 

(You shall love the LORD, with all your heart.  You shall love HIM more than you love your loved ones.  You shall long for HIM, you shall forget yourself so that, in everything, you search for what HE wants most from you.

You shall love the LORD, with all your mind.  You shall devote the best of your intelligence to knowing HIM.  Looking into your own life, you shall understand how much HE has guided you.  You shall try to understand how the kingdom of GOD is coming through world and daily events.  Praying and reading the Scriptures regularly, you shall ask GOD to give you HIS own Spirit so that you may understand HIM better.

You shall love the LORD, with all your strength.  Since you are very weak in this, you shall ask for HIS help and strive to unite with the true servants of GOD, using the means that the Church makes available to you.

The commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself comes second, because it cannot be understood or fulfilled without love of GOD.  For GOD asks for more than solidarity with one's neighbor, or concern for those who are suffering.  We should make an effort to look at our brothers and sisters in the same way that the FATHER does.  We should give them what the FATHER wants for them.  Among so many good things we could do for our neighbor, we should select those that the Holy Spirit inspires us to do.  All this requires that we first know and love GOD.) 

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JESUS And Beelzebul

"One day JESUS was driving out a dumb demon.  When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed.  Yet some of them said, 'HE drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.'  So, others wanted to put HIM to the test by asking HIM for a heavenly sign. 

But JESUS knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin and will fall.  If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end.  How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul?  If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your fellow members drive out demons?  They will be your judge, then. 

But suppose I drive out demons by the finger of GOD; would not this mean that the kingdom of GOD has come upon you?  As long as the strong and armed man guards his house, his goods are safe.  But when a stronger one attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on and disposes of his spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters.

When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands looking for a resting place.  And finding none, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order.  Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits even worse than itself.  They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.'" - Luke 11:14-26 

(HE drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul.  More than the healings, the exorcisms unsettled the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law.  They, the religious authorities, traveled from Jerusalem to see this JESUS for themselves.  The Jews of JESUS' time were obsessed with the belief that illness was a form of possession.  JESUS does not concern HIMSELF with distinguishing between illness and possession.  Actually, the Devil is behind all human misery.  Beelzebul, the name of an ancient idol, was a Jewish term for the Devil.

 

By the finger of GOD.  In Exodus 8:15, the same expression is used to designate the power of GOD working miracles.

 

Whoever is not with ME...  This phrase seems to contradict Luke 9:50:  Whoever is not against you is with you. In fact, in Luke 9:50, JESUS admits that HIS spiritual family goes much beyond the visible group of HIS disciples:  those who, without belonging to the church, work for the same goals, must be considered as friends.

 

In Luke 11:23, on the other hand, JESUS speaks of people who refuse to stand with HIM and HIS message and who want to remain uncommitted:  they do not join HIM, and later they will criticize HIM.

 

The Jews believed that evil spirits preferred to live in the desert or, rather, that GOD had banished them there.  Here JESUS is speaking of people who only believe for a while because they do not repent enough of their past sins.  They enjoyed listening to the word, but they did not take the costly measures that would have allowed them to heal the root of evil.)

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More Perfect Law

"Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets.  I have not come to remove but to fulfill them.  I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the law will change until all is fulfilled. 

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven.  On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:17-19   

(Here begins the presentation of the new Law.  It is far from what is often sought in a religion: practices to observe, fasts, prayers, good works with which one wins salvation.  JESUS says little about this because the Bible has dealt at length with this subject, and the study of the Bible itself shows that these laws and practices are always linked to a certain culture and have to be adapted to the times.

Law.  At times this word indicates all the religion of Israel.  The Law and the Prophets: was a way of indicating the whole Bible.

Not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.  JESUS does not refer to the commandments.  Rather HE affirms that the religion founded on the Old Testament's Scripture was a temporary, yet necessary, step in the history of salvation.  The prophecies had to be fulfilled; the rites and sacrifices of that religion expressed in a veiled manner the mystery of sin and mercy that would be fulfilled in the person and the work of JESUS.  With HIM comes the perfect and definitive fellowship of GOD with humankind.

For us as well, observing the laws of the Bible is not an end in itself.  They are an expression of real love and are its guidelines.  In obeying them we become receptive to the Spirit who will lead us.  In this way we discover a "righteousness" or perfection far superior to the canonists of the time: the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments ... Here JESUS is referring to the commandments.)  

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The Annunciation

"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from GOD to a town of Galilee called Nazareth.  He was sent to a young virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

The angel came to her and said, 'Rejoice, full of grace, the LORD is with you.'  Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.

But the angel said, 'Do not fear, Mary, for GOD has looked kindly on you.  You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him JESUS.  HE will be great and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High.  The LORD GOD will give HIM the kingdom of David, his ancestor; HE will rule over the people of Jacob forever and HIS reign shall have no end.'

Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be if I am a virgin?'  And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born shall be called Son of GOD.  Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child, and she is now in her sixth month.  With GOD nothing is impossible.'

Then Mary said, 'I am the handmaid of the LORD, let it be done to me as you have said.'  And the angel left her." - Luke 1:26-38 

(Only Mary could make known the mystery of JESUS' conception to the primitive church.  How could she express such an inner experience and how would it be reported?  

Therefore, in writing, Luke had to use biblical words and forms that would allow us to understand the mysterious encounter of Mary with GOD.

 

I am the handmaid of the LORD... In saying this, Mary does not lower herself with false humility; instead, she expresses her faith and her surrender.  From her will be born the one who will be both the servant announced by the prophets and the only Son.

 

Many persons are mistaken about the word "servant" in that they view Almighty GOD as using HIS servants to HIS own ends without taking time to look at them and love them.  For them GOD would lose HIS greatness if HE were to give Mary authentic responsibility in the incarnation of her Son.

 

This is quite contrary to the spirit of the Bible.  GOD loves people, HE wishes, HE who is GOD, to experience human friendship.  GOD had no need of a woman to make a human body, but HE wanted to have a mother for HIS Son; and for Mary to really be that mother, it was necessary that GOD looked upon her with greater love than HE had for any other creature.  Thus, Mary is called full of grace.

 

Grace is what we call the power GOD has to heal our spirit, to instill in us the disposition to believe, and to make us resonate with the truth so that the expression of real love comes from us in a spontaneous way.  We call grace that which came from the living GOD to blossom on earth.

 

Mary is full of grace because JESUS was born of her as HE is born of the FATHER.  This is why the Church believes that Mary has a unique role in the work of our salvation.  She is the marvel that GOD achieved at the outset of transforming humankind into HIS image.)

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Healing Is A Gift

"So Naaman went down to the Jordan where he washed himself seven times as Elisha had ordered.  His skin became soft like that of a child, and he was cleansed.

Then Naaman returned to the man of GOD with all his men.  He entered and said to him, 'Now I know that there is no other GOD anywhere in the world but in Israel.  I ask you to accept these gifts from your servant.'

But Elisha answered, 'I swear by YAHWEH whom I serve, I will accept nothing.'  And however, much Naaman insisted, Elisha would not accept his gifts.

So Naaman told him, 'Since you refuse, let me get some sacks of soil from your land - the amount that two mules can carry.  I shall use it to build an altar to YAHWEH, for I shall not offer sacrifices to any other god but HIM.'" - 2 Kings 5:14-17  

(Healing is a gift.  The fabulous treasure Naaman brought with him is useless.  The LORD is the one who gives, HE does not charge, nor does HE want us to pay HIM.  All HE asks is that if we discover HIS merciful love, we love HIM in return for HIS love.

Naaman represents a man of good will afflicted with an incurable disease, which is sin, who comes to the Church from far away because he discovers that there is a hidden source of life in it.  The water of baptism does not work by itself; its effectiveness comes from the fact that it is through baptism that we join the people of CHRIST, the Church.) 

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