Monday, September 13, 2021
. . . You Are Remnant
If you remain quietly in this land I will build you up, and not tear you down . . .
We will know when we are closest to God when our hearts are broken.
I will plant you, not uproot you . . .
We will know that God is near when we hear the call to make reparation.
For I regret the evil I have done you . . .
When we most feel like abandoning a place or a relationship, we will know that restoration is at hand.
Then listen to the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah.
When we repent our own broken vows, when we remain rooted and bloom where we are planted . . .
The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel.
When we build bridges with our enemies . . .
The Lord has brought them back from the land of the north.
When we move forward into true union and intimacy with God . . .
The Lord will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child, they shall return as an immense throng.
When we ask nothing more than to do God’s will . . . then we will know that we are remnant.
They departed in tears, and the Lord will console them and guide them; the virgins will make merry and dance, and young men and old as well.
So let us sing with our remnant companions . . .
The Lord will turn their mourning into joy, the Lord will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
And let us call others to the dance . . .
Cease your tears of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes, the sorrow you have sown shall have its reward.
Let us recount how the Lord has rescued us . . .
There is hope for your future.
And let us remember that we are God’s beloved . . .
How long will you continue to stray o rebellious daughter?
Let us tell others of the wonders of God’s love . . .
The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth.
Let us soften our hearts and unbend our stiff necks . . .
The Lord will place a new law within them, and write it upon their hearts.
Let us agree to be God’s people . . .
“I will be their God”, says the Lord, “and they will be my people”.
For there is nothing more worthy than remaining faithful to God . . . there is nothing more worthy than becoming remnant.
Image from: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2012/20121230.htm
Adapted from a reflection written on October 7, 2007.
The Noontimes 