Heavenly Father we thank you for the gift of Your Son.
17th Week in Ordinary Time: Friday 2nd August 2019
Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop
Lev. 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37; Ps. 81(80): 3,4,5,-6,10-11; Mt. 13:54-58 (Ps Wk I)
“I am your God who led you out of the land of Egypt.” These words from Psalm 81, today’s Responsorial Psalm, are often found in the Bible in some form. They are a preeminent way of affirming who God is for Israel. The Book of Genesis depicts God as the Lord of all creation. The Book of Exodus follows logically: if God is the Lord of all creation, He must also be the Lord of history: so he guided Israel’s history by leading them out of Egypt into the Promised Land and through great leaders continued to form them as the chosen People. So, then, who is God for us Christians?
In St Paul’s writings God is the One who raised Jesus from the dead. In St John’s writings, God is the One who sent Jesus — an affirmation frequently repeated by Jesus himself.
As the Lord of history, God in Christ is lord of our individual personal history — by guiding us every moment in the way of holiness and happiness, towards the fullness of redemption in eternal life: in our human history Jesus came as our saviour, died and rose from the dead so that our history would be fulfilled forever in his presence. God created us out of love and for love.
Heavenly Father we thank you for the gift of Your Son.
