…’See this is our God in whom we hoped for Salvation’ (Isaiah 25:9) …

Many years ago, Fr Richard Lennan, a friend who is a priest of the Newcastle-Maitland Diocese and who lectures in Theology at Boston College (USA), taught us that we will gain a deeper understanding of God (Theology) by having the Scriptures in one hand and the Newspaper in the other. I was poignantly reminded of this wisdom during this week when we have all been confronted by the atrocities taking place in the Middle East, the earthquake in Afghanistan, the continuing turmoil across the world and our journey as an Australian community towards the Referendum.

 So, when reflecting on the Readings for this weekend, I followed Fr Richard’s advice and I found solace in the wisdom of the First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah which carries messages of both warning and hope. In his 1980 talks on the prophets, Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr delves into the message of hope found in the book of Isaiah:  When the prophet Isaiah is writing, it’s to people who are still in the midst of unbelievable pain and suffering. The ancient Israelites are still exiled and enslaved in Babylon, and they have been for decades. I imagine they would be overwhelmed by hopelessness. Yet in the midst of their exile, Isaiah writes what biblical scholars call the “Book of Consolations.” Isaiah says that injustice and evil are not the final reality. Instead, the final reality is the comfort and compassion of God. The prophet stands in that place of trust. Isaiah becomes the prophet of hope because he knows God is not neutral but is involved in history. 

 Rohr continues:  

Hope is not primarily for the future. It’s for now! Hope is a way of seeing time and understanding the present. It’s a way of tasting and receiving the moment. It gives us the capacity to enter into the future in a new way. In that sense, we can call hope true realism, because hope takes seriously all the many possibilities that fill the moment. Hope sees all the alternatives; it recognizes and creates an alternative consciousness. That’s the hope of the prophet…and that’s the power of the prophets—to recognize that there is always another way for the promise to be fulfilled, another way for Divine Love to reach us. (Prophets – Rohr. 1980) 

 This weekend’s Reading from Isaiah is often chosen for funerals and when mourning the passing of a loved one – the reassurance of hope and trust in our God. Let us reflect on these words as we pray for Peace – remembering those who have died and praying for the safety of those in danger – every human life is precious so let us light a candle in hope for all humanity…

 ‘…the Lord of hosts will prepare for all people a banquet of rich food…on this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples, the shroud enwrapping all nations, the Lord will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away the tears from every cheek…that day it will be said: See this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation; the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.’ (Isaiah 25: 6-9).                                            

  Phil Billington