August 13, 2010
Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Melanie Rigney
Thus says the LORD: I will deal with you according to what you have done, you who despised your oath, breaking a covenant. Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you. Then you shall remember your conduct and be ashamed when I take your sisters, those older and younger than you, and give them to you as daughters, even though I am not bound by my covenant with you. For I will re-establish my covenant with you, that you may know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 16:59-63)
God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3)
(When the disciples responded to Jesus’s statement that anyone who divorces, unless the marriage was unlawful, and remarries commits adultery by saying that it was better not to marry, Jesus said:) “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.” (Matthew 19:11-12)
Piety
Lord, please help me to accept the words and guidance You so graciously give me.
Study
Some hard readings today.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus puts such limits on divorce that the disciples respond that it’s better not to get married at all.
In the first reading, God chastises Israel for its conduct and breaking of its covenant with Him. He says he’ll deal with Israel “according to what you have done.” Not a pretty thought.
And yet, in both cases, there’s guidance—and hope.
Jesus acknowledges that yes, some people should remain celibate, but only those guided by God in that way. And in the first reading, God promises to re-establish His covenant, and to give to Israel “as daughters” its neighbors despite the breaking of the earlier promise.
But how do we know? Are we called to a celibate vocation? And can God truly forgive us when we break those promises we’ve made to Him, especially the two greatest, to love Him and to love others as ourselves? How do we get out of the way of our own frailties and fears, and follow His lead?
Perhaps the answer lies in Isaiah’s words we contemplate today:
God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.
For when we drink from the fountain of salvation, the listening and discernment become easier. We listen with joy and confidence, not with fear and trepidation.
God doesn’t always give us the answer we want, on our relationships with others or with Him. But with His grace, He provides all the support we need to live those answers, no matter how often we’ve ignored them in the past.
Action
What is God asking you to do right now that you don’t want to do? Have a talk with Him about it. Pray for discernment, and the ability to be obedient.
