St Barnabas

The Lord has made known his salvation;

has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

for the house of Israel.

Psalm 98 [97]

. . .

 

 

Justice. Truth. Love. Israel and the nations.

 

I am always struck by the juxtapositions in the psalms. It's as if the psalmist wants us always to bear in mind that God's justice is never without God's love, and God's love is never without God's truth; that God's particular love for Israel is a love that takes in the whole world, that the chosenness of God's people is a vocation to bless, to be a blessing to the world. This is who God is--the one who loves in truth, the one who is justice and mercy and peace.

 

God is always bigger than we thought. And no matter how long we follow Jesus, or how deep our faith is, we are still susceptible to paradigm shifts, to a still more profound encounter with the Lord. How often I coast along, like my car in neutral on a gentle downhill slope. I am not looking for the paradigm shift. Am I even looking for Jesus? Am I so sure I am following that I have stopped looking ahead on the road for his footprints, his figure in the distance?

 

Probably, yes. More often than I think. I forget to look up, to ask for the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the mind to know, and the heart to love God. Would I hear the Spirit calling, as the community heard the Spirit calling Barnabas and Paul? I am not so sure. Fortunately God remembers, even when I don't, keeps calling me forward. By God's grace, eventually, I look up, and I see Jesus there, God's Truth and God's Love, and I know he hears the prayer of my heart, and I am grateful.

 

Deo gratias.