Deacon Tom Writes,
“Rescue Me”
Throughout
the Old Testament God is always coming to the aid of His people. He is always
there to rescue them from every sort of peril and even deliver them from the
consequences of their bad choices. We know these turbulent adventures of the
Israelites as “Salvation History”. It is the story of God “rending the heavens” so that He may come and dwell among His people
and yes, at times even come to their rescue. God lives and works among us so He
can save us from ourselves, reveal Himself to us, and “teach us His ways”.
There
is much we can learn from the “Remnant”
that we hear mentioned by the Prophet Jeremiah today. The small band that God
rescues are the beneficiaries of God’s goodness as He actively worked out
“Salvation History” for the Jewish People. From the moment they became God’s
Chosen People, the Israelites slowly began to turn away from Him. When He
delivered them from their bondage in Egypt, they showed their gratitude by
returning to their former ways by worshiping a golden calf. When He gave them
the land of the Canaanites, they again turned their backs on Him and continued
their idolatrous practices. But, God always remained faithful to His people,
always preserving a “remnant” of people who would remain faithful to Him.
God’s
faithfulness to His people is an important lesson for us today. For in reality,
we are quite similar to the people who have gone before us. As a people of God
we often stumble and fall; we get caught up with the “things” of this world and
turn our backs to God. “Rescue Me, Lord!”
is our plea too.
It
is good for us to desire to be numbered among that “Remnant” that seeks to draw close to God; to be numbered among those
who seek to be sheltered and insulated from the evils that surround us today. It
is just this sort of protection the Blind Man in our gospel must have felt when
he encountered Jesus. God rescues him from the blindness that imprisoned him
and gives him a new beginning.
What
do we need to be rescued from: our fears, our broken relationships, our hurt
memories and regrets, our shortcomings and failures, our guilt? Many things I
suspect. Today’s message is a comforting one. God is there and always has been
to rescue us from all our anxieties and fears if we just call upon Him to, “rescue me!”
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon
Tom
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