Judges 21: The Breach
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Bridges are to be built over the abysses that separate us. This is the lesson we learn if we read today’s story carefully. At first glance it seems as though violence is condoned; God appears to be the castigating all-powerful one; but when we take time to read closely and carefully, and if we use footnotes and commentary, we see something different. Much like the message in Lamentations, we see and hear that in the life of the Kingdom we must learn patience, for the lesson will always arrive. And so frequently the lesson is the reverse of what we initially thought it might be. What appears to be forbidden is actually blessed. What seems to be lost is wonderfully found. And what we believe to be total chaos settles beautifully into God’s plan.
In today’s Morning Prayer, the psalmist exclaims: O Lord, I will trust in you! (Psalm 55:24) Isaiah pronounces: It was I who stirred up one for the triumph of justice; all his ways I make level. He shall rebuild my city and let my exiles go free without price or ransom, says the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 45:13) And in Leviticus 26:13 God reminds us that . . . It is I, the Lord, who brought you out of the land of the Egyptians and freed you from their slavery, breaking the yoke they had laid upon you and letting you walk erect.
Today’s first reading at Mass is one that I love. (Acts 5:17-26) It is the beginning of the story of how the Apostles respond to God’s word as they have been called to do. They are jailed – and they are freed by angels and miracles. It is a story that reminds us we have nothing to fear. It is a story that tells us that we survive best by depending on God alone. And it is a story that shows us how easily the breaches in our lives might be mended if we lived in and for God rather than in and for ourselves.
The people had compassion because the Lord had made a breach . . .
When things look darkest, there is space to find the light.
When life seems horrifying, there is always healing.
When we feel twisted and tortured, there is life anew wrought by transformation.
When breaches appear, let us be patient, let us listen, and let us attend. Good news always arrives.
The people had compassion because the Lord had made a breach . . .
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 4.5 (2011). Print.
Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1477812371964568/
A Favorite from May 4, 2011.
The Noontimes 