The Mystery of God’s Word
God’s word is the power which created the universe and calls everything into being.
The Book of Genesis uses speech as a way for us to understand how God creates. God said, “Let light be,” and light happened; God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness,” and it happened. In other words, God acted freely to make everything that exists. The theme of God’s sovereignty over creation is reaffirmed in what we hear from Isaiah this Sunday: “My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
This passage from Isaiah 55 is part of a beautiful oracle about God’s restoration of Zion and his renewal of his people in the covenant he made with them. The people had been unfaithful to God and suffered because of it. They had cruel and tyrannical kings, wars with other nations, and finally exile to Babylon. None of this happened because God was mean to them, but because sin brings suffering. The sin of cheating one another in business results in poverty and mutual distrust; the sin of environmental exploitation results in exhausted crop land and famine; the sin of idolatry results in child sacrifice, physical mutilation, and all kinds of emotional and psychological disorder. Israel had engaged in all these sins and suffered the consequences. In addition, they had not obeyed God who spoke to them through prophets about how to achieve peace, and the result was wars and exile. Isaiah’s prophecy tells how God, who created everything in the beginning, continues to create and renew the world. The people who had spurned God were called to a new conversion, turning back to him to receive the blessings that God gives freely. God brought them back from exile to their home, but now they had the work of rebuilding their homes – driving out squatters, rebuilding crumbled walls, reploughing wild fields – and it wasn’t easy, but God blessed them through their struggles.
Just as ancient Israel was full of disorder, strife, and suffering because of sin, we experience suffering in the world today for the same reason. As individuals and communities, we are called to repent and turn back to God to receive his word and be able to receive the blessings that he pours out. How do we do this? We have prayer, Sacraments, and work both personally and communally. Each of us can commit to daily prayer, the Sacrament of Confession, and loving God by following his commands. These lead us to happiness in true worship, family reconciliation, honest living, and respect for the dignity of others. We come together to worship and celebrate the Eucharist every week and we work for justice in our country. God’s word is always at work, creating and renewing his world, and he has given us the dignity of freedom to cooperate with him. When we freely embrace God’s word, we see the fruits in the blessings that come from turning away from sin and being faithful to him.
-Fr. Nate
