Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - 4th Week of Lent - Wed
[Isa 49:8-15 and John 5:17-30]But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. [Isaiah]
One of the most profound relationships we can have as humans is the one we have with out parents. Even those children adopted at birth will display not only those characteristics that they have inherited genetically from their birth parents, but there will be some kind of "relationship" that will lead them later on to try and find their birthparent(s). The same may be true of that birth parent! The parent-child bond is truly deep. It would appear that God has designed it that way to ensure the natural continuation of a species of animals through care for the young.
Both scriptures today - from Isaiah and from the Gospel of John - speak of a "parental" relationship. Isaiah presents God as being as close to Israel as a mother is to her child! Jesus speaks of God as his "Father." Indeed his critics point to that claim as blasphemous because it appears to make him "equal" to God. Isaiah's use of the parental analogy is meant to comfort the exiled Jews who felt completely abandoned by God in Babylon. Jesus presents himself as doing the "work" of his Father.
The parental analogy may be difficult for those whose relationship to one or both parents has been difficult or even traumatic. Yet even this would be an indication of the depth of the relationship, and its power for good or bad! Today's Word of God points to the possibility that can be found in thinking of God as Father or Mother. It can be a love "beyond all telling." AMEN
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