Come Home to the Lord

Come Home to the Lord

March 13, 2013

Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

By Colleen O'Sullivan

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.  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.  (Isaiah 49:13-15)

Jesus answered the Jews:  “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”  For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.  (John 5:17-18)

Piety

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.  The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.  (Psalm 145:8-9)

Study

In today’s reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks words of great hope and joy to the people in exile.  Cyrus, the Persian, God’s chosen instrument of deliverance, has just conquered the Babylonians.  God’s people will be set free!  God is even at that moment preparing the way home for them. 

I doubt that many of us could pinpoint the exact location of Babylon on a map, but, nevertheless, I imagine we’ve all been there.  We’ve all found ourselves in exile at some time or another, far from home, separated from God.  We may be grieving the loss of a loved one and thinking that it will never be springtime in our heart again, so intense is our mourning.  Or maybe we’ve deeply wounded someone we love and we’re wondering if the relationship can ever be repaired.  Perhaps during this Lenten journey, in examining our relationship with the Lord, we’ve taken an honest look at our sinfulness and now we’re ashamed to confess our wrongdoing to the Lord.  Will God forgive us?  There are countless types of exiles we human beings experience.

God speaks to us as he spoke to his people long ago:  Come back to me.  I am waiting for you.  I will lead you home.  Where the way is rocky and steep, I will level the path.  I will assuage your hunger and thirst along the way.  Please come home.  I love you and long for your return.

We want to believe God.  We want God to take us by the hand and lead us back where we belong.  But sometimes that little voice of doubt creeps into our hearts.  Even as God is wooing us, like Zion, we hold onto the fear that God has forsaken us, has forgotten all about us.  Unfortunate as it may be, this is where some of us live, in the uncertainty that God could ever love us as we really are.

So God responds, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?”  Sadly, in today’s world, our answer is yes.  That most cherished image of mother and child is shattered every day when we read in the news about children who are neglected, or abused, or sometimes even murdered by their mothers (and fathers).

As if God knows what our response will be, God goes on to assure us that even if some mothers come up short, even if some mothers prove unfaithful, God never will.  God will never forget us.  God will always hold us close and will never stop loving us.   

Action

It’s sad that our doubts are often what stand between us and the love of God.  Jesus is Love incarnate, but as we read in John’s Gospel, many could not see past their doubts in spite of Jesus’ healing so many, performing numerous signs and miracles, and teaching all that his Father revealed to him. 

What is it that prevents you from experiencing the full force of God’s love?  Do you find yourself in exile of any sort at this point in your Lenten journey?  Reach out to the Lord; God is waiting to take you by the hand and pull you into his loving embrace.

Tomorrow night, March 14, there will be a diocesan healing Mass at 7:30 pm at Church of the Nativity in Burke.  It’s a wonderful opportunity for letting go of whatever is keeping you in exile.