Daily Reflection for Friday, August 12, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners!
We encourage you to reflect on Friday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081222.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63 or 16:59-63
Responsorial: Isaiah 12:2-3,4BCD,5-6
Gospel: Matthew 19:3-12
Our reflection on Friday’s readings:
For I will re-establish my covenant with you, that you may know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 16:62
Today’s readings are a bit challenging for me. The first reading in particular is steeped in harsh metaphors inspired by the societal norms and practices of the time of the Old Testament. But as I do with all scripture readings, I asked myself, “what am I supposed to hear in this reading?”
I think the message is this: No matter what we do, how far we stray, how long we turn away from God, He will always, always, always, be there to welcome us back into relationship with Him. God’s covenant or promise is just that straight forward.
This idea is often hard for me to accept. While I want to believe that it is true that God is infinitely forgiving and infinitely merciful, I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. It may be the vestiges of my childhood image of God as a stern father who judges all our misdeeds and missed opportunities; an image still living deep in the recesses of my psyche. But I think it is also because we tend to anthropomorphize God and assign human attributes and behaviors to him. Because we as humans find it so hard to forgive and forget, and to be merciful, we have a hard time imagining a God that could do those things so freely.
God created us and knows it is difficult for us to do these things for ourselves and for each other. But He wants us to try, to be forgiving and merciful as He is. And because we often fail, He gives us the opportunity to try, and try again. So perhaps we can think of each misstep or failure, once recognized, as a chance to re-establish our covenant with God. Because He, the Lord, is always there, waiting.
Peace and love,
Andra Liepa