Thursday, January 30, 2014

Doesn't mean what you think it means

In David's prayer we hear him thank God for the promise he has made regarding Israel and the house of David. What David could not have imagined is what God's promise actually meant. Even after almost two millennia there are some people, even some Christians, who talk as if the promise God made to Jesus were linked to the modern political state of Israel.

This weekend we will celebrate the Presentation in which Jesus is proclaimed "a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel." Jesus makes clear that his promise to David, the kingdom that would last forever was not limited to a small country in the Middle East but a kingdom that would encompass the whole world.

Especially in hard times we can wonder if God really answers prayers or if he can really be trusted to keep his promises. Today's reading reminds us that God not only keeps his promises but in keeping them he goes beyond what we can ever imagine. As we humans measure time in smaller and smaller units, and get more impatient. God continues to see, not just the big picture, but the biggest picture and act accordingly.

Can we acknowledge the smallness of our vision, and trust that God knows best?