Huwebes, Agosto 1, 2013

From the Taize Community and the Focolare Movement


15 July 2013

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 http://www.taize.fr/en_article681.html

Alleluia 10 + Psalm 113

 Romans 10:11-13

Nothing can ever

Ad te Jesu Christe
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

August 2013

Psalm 4: God Sets Us Free
Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.
Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
(Psalm 4)
Who of us has never experienced a situation of intense anxiety? Perhaps we had the feeling we no longer had any solid ground beneath our feet. Or perhaps fear and worry narrowed our field of action so much that we were totally paralyzed. Or maybe instead we started running in all directions to flee the void that was welling up in us?
That is the situation at the beginning of this psalm. Is the psalmist presently in a situation of anxiety, or does he recall one from the past in order better to exhort his contemporaries? In any case, he calls for faith and conversion, and perhaps he is preaching as much to himself as to others.
Opening his eyes, he is forced to realize, with both clear-sightedness and a note of perplexity, to what extent human beings tend to cling to useless things, to what extent they “love delusions” and “seek false gods”. In the face of this, the psalmist recalls God’s faithfulness and constancy, which he has experienced. He indicates a way forward: do not sin, keep in silence, offer sacrifices to God, trust in him. In other words, he suggests that people stop the wild race that leads nowhere, and find in silence and in God an orientation for their activity and their life in general.
In this way, the psalmist attempts to reply to the questioning of people who are searching for happiness everywhere, in a somewhat confused fashion. He shows them the happiness that is found in seeking “the light of God’s face”. The expression “God’s face” is a common one in the Bible. It is found notably in the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. Still today, Jews and Christians use these words to entreat God to grant others the fullness of life and happiness that God alone can give. The psalmist emphasizes the fact that this is a deeper and more permanent happiness than the one found even in the most joyful events and the most festive feasts.
In the final verse, there is no anxiety. Even at night, when fear could be extreme, God makes the psalmist dwell in safety. The psalm thus shows us two aspects of faith: there is first of all the call to trust in God, but in the final analysis it is God who establishes human beings in safety. If they stop running in all directions, God sets their feet on solid ground. Far from remaining trapped in an anxious immobility, they discover a wide-ranging field of activity: God has set them free.
- How do I react in the face of stressful events?
- Does anxiety paralyze me or cause me to panic?
- Where do I find real happiness?
- When have I ever found support in God?

‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.’ (Luke 6:32)

This month’s Word of Life is taken from Luke’s gospel. It is part of a large section of Jesus’ sayings that corresponds to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel. As we know, in this section Jesus describes the requirements of the kingdom of God and the characteristics of those who belong to it. The source and goal of these requirements is imitating our heavenly Father.

In this verse Jesus calls his disciples to imitate God the Father in loving. If we want to be his children, we must love our neighbours in the way he does.

‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.’
The first and most significant characteristic of God the Father’s love is that it is absolutely free. It is totally opposite to the world’s love. The world’s love is based on getting something back and feelings of attraction (we love people who love us and people we like). The Father’s love is completely selfless. He gives himself to the people he has made however they react. It is a love whose nature is to take the initiative, giving all that it has. Consequently, it is a love that builds and transforms. Our heavenly Father does not love us because we are good or spiritually beautiful and so deserve his attention and kindness. On the contrary, by loving us, he himself creates in us the goodness and spiritual beauty of grace, making us his friends and his children.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
Another characteristic of the love of God the Father is its universality. God loves everyone without distinction. The measure of his love is to have no limit or measure.
Besides, his love couldn’t be free and creative if it weren’t completely poured out wherever there is a need or a void to fill.
This is why our heavenly Father also loves those children who are ungrateful, far from him or rebellious. Indeed, he feels particularly drawn to them.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
How shall we live the Word of Life this month? We should behave as true children of our heavenly Father, imitating his love, above all in those characteristics we have emphasised here: its being freely given and universal. Like this we’ll try to be the first to love, with a love that is generous, in solidarity with the other, open to all, aware particularly of the voids we find around us. We’ll try to love without looking for results. We’ll make an effort to be the instruments of the open-handedness of God, sharing with others the gifts of nature and grace we have received from him.
If we let ourselves be guided by this word of Jesus, we will have new eyes and a new heart for every neighbour coming across our path, every time this chance is offered by our daily life. And wherever we are (home, school, work, hospital and so on) we will feel urged to be distributors of this love which belongs to God and which Jesus brought to earth, the only love that can transform the world.
Chiara Lubich
First published in full as the Word of Life for June 1983
Read more on this topic:
Brandl, Gary and Tom Ess, OFM. The Gospel in Action: A New Evangelization Day by Day, New City Press, 2013, p.54–61.
Lubich, Chiara. “Be the First to Love”, The Art of Loving, New City Press, 2005, p.47.
Lubich, Chiara. “The Art of Loving”, Essential Writings, New City Press, 2007, p.77.
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