10/4/16
Fr J's words and my notes:
The Meaning of God's Mercy Part IV- Bible Images of God's Mercy
Fr. J:
A mental image can strongly determine how you see or understand something. If you have the image of a harsh and domineering father in your memory, your understanding God as Father is skewed and grossly distorted. It will actually blind you to the reality of who God is. On the other hand, the right image can enable you to correctly see and penetrate into a deep understanding of someone or something.
Ezekiel 47:1-12. The Wonderful Stream.
Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and there! I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water flowed out toward the right side of the temple to the south of the altar. He brought me by way of the north gate and around the outside to the outer gate facing east; there I saw water trickling from the southern side. When he continued eastward with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and once more had me wade through the water; it was up to the knees. He measured another thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was up to my waist. Once more he measured off a thousand cubits. Now it was a river I could not wade across. The water had risen so high, I would have to swim—a river that was impassable. Then he asked me, “Do you see this, son of man?” He brought me to the bank of the river and had me sit down. As I was returning, I saw along the bank of the river a great many trees on each side. He said to me, “This water flows out into the eastern district, runs down into the Arabah and empties into the polluted waters of the sea to freshen them. Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes. Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will become a place for drying nets, and it will abound with as many kinds of fish as the Great Sea. Its marshes and swamps shall not be made fresh, but will be left for salt. Along each bank of the river every kind of fruit tree will grow; their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fresh fruit because the waters of the river flow out from the sanctuary. Their fruit is used for food, and their leaves for healing.”
Fr. J:
This is an image of the immense river of God's mercy that flows out from the heart of God into the world. When the heart of Jesus was pierced by a lance, blood and water flowed forth, identifying the river's source and destination: the regeneration of the life of the world:
John 19:34-35:
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.
2 Kings 5:10:
Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand there to call on the name of the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the place, and thus cure the leprous spot. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left.
But his servants came up and reasoned with him: “My father, if the prophet told you to do something extraordinary, would you not do it? All the more since he told you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Fr. J:
These images are Divinely given to allow us to correctly see, understand and experience God's Mercy. They emphasize one point: You have to plunge in! With hope and trust, covered though you be in leprosy, you must plunge in. If you plunge into a river of water and stay immersed, you will cease to breathe and die. With this river you plunge in to begin to breathe and come to life again. We are drowning in a world of anger, violence and death. Our sins hold us captive in it.
This has a direct application to how we worship at Mass, how we approach and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, how we pray, how we struggle with sin, and how we deal with others struggling with sin. We will explore these here, in the worship aid, in the near future.
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My notes on his lecture:
We are not God. He does not think or act like us. We should not make God into our image, he is not an echo of us, we are an echo of him. And we are badly broken, wounded and sick so our echo is not so very accurate of the original song of love.
Isaiah 55, my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts.
If God's loving thoughts didn't sustain the chair I am sitting on, it would cease to exist. Let that soak in. He is everywhere present and filling (sustaining) all things in his love.
When we ignore God he does not draw away and pout, he remains a God of love who remains there, present and sustaining us just like the rest of the universe or we would cease to exist. God has no need or desire to punish us, that is our stinking thinking. The consequences of our foolishness may catch up to us yes and we see God's lack of intervention to fix our mess as his punishment, but this simply is not God's business.
God's mercy is all around us, lapping at our feet, all we have to do is step in, open our hearts and let it flow in, let the river of life flow in and through me. His love radiates continually and swirls around all of us continually, no matter our response to him. There is an infinite amount of mercy and love we are swimming in, we simply must break through this little shell of self absorption to tap into it. The only step to tapping into this is to want it, to want that love to change who I am into a creature of love and selflessness. I hate when someone ignores me I turn away, I hate when I get home tired I isolate and won't give any more to anyone.
God's business is to redeem, heal and regenerate life. [If we take this as our basic approach to scripture it greatly simplifies everything--EVERYTHING can be plugged into this theme in our Judaeo-Christian heritage]. The river of life flowing out of the temple and getting deeper and deeper and swallowing the whole world in his mercy.
There's a river of life flowing out of me
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see
Opens prison doors sets the captives free
There's a river of life flowing out of me
Spring up Oh well within my soul
Spring up Oh well and make me whole
Spring up Oh well flow out from me
That life abundantly
This river of love started when God created everything and decided to sustain it. It was our fall that isolated us from this river... Insulated us from it quite well actually. Jesus comes to remind us of this flowing merciful river that has always been there for us. He appeals for us to receive it, to become open to it and receive what has always been there. He enfleshes in graphic detail this powerful love flowing out of his very flesh in a stream of blood and water, He wants to make it plain!! And he does.
Naaman of Syria the leper.
7 plunges into the river and he is clean! 7 is a number of completion or perfection.
Confession is a plunging into the river that is already around you.
It simply requires a desire to not be a leper any more... I don't want to act out of my woundedness any more, I want to act out of God's love and mercy that flows freely around, in and through me. I need to be healed, I have the desire to be healed, this objectifies the problem and God can pull it away.. It is outside of me and God can cleanse it. This problem is not me, it is not who I was created, it is just a problem, some stinking thinking and actions that I have fallen into. If I name it then it becomes more apparent that it is not part of me, it is just a sickness that God can heal, a stain that he can wash, an attitude that he can adjust by the outpouring of his mercy and grace.
Affirm others who are acting against God's loving way by affirming the good God has put in them, the love that pours through them. I am glad that you have love for each other... This cohabitation is not something I agree is the best for you. But I am still happy that you love each other, that you live a life of selfless giving to each other, I truly find this beautiful. I find your level of commitment to each other a good starting point and very lovely to behold.
This is a prophecy of the death of Jesus, the living water and blood flowing from the side of Christ, redeeming, healing and regenerating life. This living water flows out and laps up to the door of every human heart and is there for the drinking and being healed thereby. BEAUTIFUL IMAGE.
This river flows always up to the threshold of every human heart. God always stands with open arms like the Father in the prodigal son story - that is who God is, he never withdraws His love no matter how we respond. This river flowed up against the heart of those we love to hate as well, Hitler, Sadaam Hussein - God's love is continuous as revealed by Christ and the Divine Mercy in His sacrificial death, the blood and water flowing out from His side is that mercy and the source of the trickle here in.
We are commanded to plunge into this river of mercy again and again, ...
I stand, stand in the water
Knee deep, deep in the water
Now down, I go under
And rise up, rise up for ever!!!!
-- DA
Naaman plunged in seven times to become clean... But isn't it more a desire to grow in love continually and the sacrament is one of regeneration, of growing in love and a calling to jump in the pool.
Thank you for these images of your Mercy Papa! I love you!
We Love you son, go to work in peace today and use your gifts to serve others.
I will Papa. Mmmmmmwwwhaaa!
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[Bold print represents what Seb is sensing God whispering in the
depths of his heart during his prayer time.
Bold italic print represents what Seb is sensing a Saint
whispering to his heart in prayer. NONE of this is to be taken as
authoritative instruction for us all (unless of course it is actual scripture being quoted).
Click here to learn more about what this type of two way prayer is and is
not.]
