保土ヶ谷カトリック教会

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15
              Psalm 103
              Luke13:1-9
  When we pray we come before God as-we-are, and talk to him from our true heart. But, who is this God? What is he like? The readings in today's Mass give us a glimpse of God.
Exodus: God calls Moses by name. In the Scriptures calling a person by his/her special name is a symbol of warmth and intimacy. God knows my own personal name and calls me by it. God invites warmth and intimacy in prayer. But God is the almighty creator, so at the same time we should show respect and reverence to him. (This is the implied meaning of Moses taking off his shoes). Balance is important: intimacy and reverence. One should not overshadow the other.
  God ALWAYS hears our prayer. They ALWAYS reach him. God says: "I see your miserable state. I hear your appeal. Yes, I am well aware of your sufferings. I will deliver you." (The Scriptures have an eternal present tense!) Let us send up our prayer to God, and let God decide what is truly best for us.
  Sometimes I hear people say: "I got sick (or failed an examination, or some suffering came): it was because I did not come to Church." In the Gospel Jesus is strongly opposed to this kind of thinking. Our God is NOT a punishing God; He is not a cold, strict God of laws. In the Gospel some people were killed by Pilate, others died when tower under construction fell on them. It was said of them: "Their death is a punishment for their sins." Jesus tells us that this is not so. God is not like that, God understands human weakness and He waits hopefully for our conversion. We can always go back to God (like the prodigal son) and get a very warm welcome back. This is the gentle Father - God we pray to, as his beloved children. Two lines of the Psalm 103:8 and 14 sum up an image of the God to whom we pray: "The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger, and rich in mercy. He is slow to anger..... for he knows the clay of which we are made." Let us send up our prayer to such a gentle God.