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Five golden rings ( the Pentateuch: the first 5 books of the Old Testament)Friday, December 29, 2000
Luke 2:22-35 But we humans are not machines. Although I am logical about many things, my response to words spoken about myself or my children will be far more complicated. When the words spoken over me are blessings, I will expect those words to come true. And when the words spoken over me are curses, I will also probably expect those words to come true. Both the words and my expectations lend momentum to the forces working themselves out in me. Both are crucial to creating the real facts of my life. Mary and Joseph heard from the angel, from relatives, from priests and strangers about the future of their baby. Over and over the words they heard filled their minds with hope and joy about the future of Jesus. But Mary must have wondered, what does Simeon mean, "a sword will pierce your own soul, too." What grief, what heartbreak is it that awaits her? She cannot help but wonder, and when she ponders all the things that happened in those days, this is one of the words that she remembers over and over. In the stillness of her thoughts, she wonders what it could mean. What joy, and what pain, will the future bring? Lord, I marvel at the mystery of your touch in our lives. Thank you for the fleeting moments of awareness of your love, your blessing, your protection, your beauty. Open my ears and eyes and mind to all of you that is around me.
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When mere mortals predict the future (Jeanne Dixon, Nostradamus, Jeremiah, Isaiah...), they are ignored or ridiculed unless their predictions begin to come true. As much or more than any other time in human history, people in the "developed" parts of the world need logical, positive proof before they believe much of what they hear.