9th August, 2013
‘By
a mighty hand and an outstretched arm’ – that was the phrase the Israelites
used to summarise the glorious care that God took of their ancestors. The
readings speak to us of the ‘Glory’ of God that deserves all our obedience and
allegiance! The covenant that Israelites had with Yahweh was not formulated on some
imaginary terms, but was established on a concrete experience of a nation walking into freedom. Neither is the covenant we have with God based on an imagination
– it is based on a concrete sacrifice of the Son of God, signed with the blood
from the Cross and ratified with the death of the Lamb of God! At our baptism
we have counter signed that covenant and it is upto us to honour it all our life. The
terms are clear – to recognize the great deeds that God has accomplished on our
behalf; to acknowledge the saving mysteries of the life, death and resurrection
of the Son of God; and to behold the great gift of Resurrection that is
promised us in the hope of this covenant. We can behold that resurrection in
the Risen Lord, if we are ready to participate in the life of the Son of God –
a life lived totally in obedience to the holy will of God. Carrying the daily
cross – is the readiness to face the hurdles of each day and continue to feel
the presence of God beside; to remain steadfast to what is true, right and just, despite the consequences that might prove to be tricky or troublesome; to be ready to
lose the whole world, just in order to gain one’s soul!