CHRISTMAS NOVENA - DAY 3: O Adonai!

18th December: O Adonai...

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel

who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Based on Isaiah 11:45 and Isaiah 33:22, the title Adonai, refers to the Lordship of Yahweh, that the people of Israel always stressed on. From a generic universal history that yesterday's "Wisdom" reminded us of, today's "Adonai" comes down to the particular experience of Exodus, the watershed of the Spirituality of the people of Israel.

The Symbols are burning bush, to remind the experience when Moses surrendered to Yahweh and the stone tablets of the commandments, the symbol of Israel's surrender to Yahweh. What is stressed is the Lordship of Yahweh, which is the key to the God-experience of the Israel and our faith-experience today.

The Lord of Israel, our God is Supreme over all beings of the earth or the heavens, the Lord of history and the Lord of the future. This is nothing that God would insist on holding on to, because God stands to gain nothing whether we accept or reject God's losrdship; it is we who stand to gain or lose! When we accept the Lordship of the Creator, we find meaning, significance and purpose in everything that happens in our life; when we do not surrender, every bit of what happens can become a concern and a cause for sadness and dissatisfaction. Hence the call is to Surrender, to the lordship of the Lord.

The prayer today is that of a SURRENDER into the redeeming power of God, to be led by the Lord's hands always - from darkness to light, from folly to wisdom, from death to life!