Repent and trust in the hand of the Lord!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Thursday

December 12, 2019: Isaiah 41: 13-21; Matthew 11:11-15

News about violence everyday, cry of injustice and unfettered exploitation of the weak, persecutions in the name of religion and venomous maligning of persons and groups owing to the religious and moral values that they hold on to, conniving laws and strategies in the making, outright squashing of truth with might and muscle - these are what we hear on a daily basis these days. Jesus seems to tell us, that this is nothing new! "Since John the Baptist came, upto this present time, the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence", he says. And the first reading adds hopefully, inspite of all these, "Do not be afraid, I shall help you." 

The image that we can behold and ruminate, is that of a child holding the hand of the father or the mother, and braving the whole world around. There may be a whole world of strangers around and some of them may be intending to hurt or harm too, but the child is blissfully secure in the hands of the Father or the Mother... that is what a Christian should be!

Let us never forget that one quintessential truth of Christian faith: we are never alone! The Lord promises today: I, the God of Israel, shall never abandon you! We are preparing to celebrate this truth; that God came to dwell with us. And ever since, God has been with us; and God shall never abandon us! This is one important truth to which we have to repent very often, because we forget it, drift away from in and in the meantime deny it by our actions and choices!

Let us heed the voice of the Lord today, remind ourselves of the ever-present hand of God and Repent and trust in the hand of the Lord!