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27th Sunday of Year B – 2021

1 octobre 2021
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: companion, compassion, Genesis 2:18-24, God knows, kindness, Mercy, Romans 8:28

If you were asked what is the most important quality of… GOD, for you,
I imagine that you would choose the attribute that speaks to you most.
I expect that the answers would vary from one person to another.
People would speak of his kindness, his mercy, his patience, his compassion, etc.

The 1st reading of this Sunday (Genesis 2:18-24) mentions one aspect of who God is that I personally find very revealing.
The text says:

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
 
These few words tell us something quite astonishing,
all the more so that this text appears in the second chapter of the very first book of the Bible.
What is said, in fact, is that God knows what is good for us, human beings.
And not only does he know, but this is what he wants for us, what he is ready to give us.

The scene describes man – the first human being – trying to find a companion, someone… like himself!
Someone with whom he will be able to share his life on earth.
We see him going through all the creatures already present around him, but none of them responds to man’s need.
Not any of the living beings that surround him correspond to what he is looking for…

What is interesting in the text is that before we see man searching, we are told of God’s plan:
to give man this special companion he desires so much!
God has foreseen the need, God knows what is good, God is ready to provide…

To me, this is one quality of God that I find most comforting:
in any and every situation, God knows what is good for us and he is ready to give us precisely that!
 
We are sometimes slow to understand this and to rely on his willingness…
The apostle Paul had discovered this and he was convinced that it was so whatever happened.
He wrote to the first Christians of Rome, saying:

“By turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

Do we?…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/27e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2021/

 

Source: Image: PrimoBibleVerses

 

29th Sunday of Year A

19 octobre 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: adoration, beneficiaries, Caesar, give back, God, kindness, Mt.22 :15-21, obey the law, pay taxes, respect, voting, wisdom

The last verse of this Sunday’s gospel text (29th of Year A – Mt.22 :15-21) is so well-know to us that we sometimes use it ourselves… for our own purposes!
“Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

The meaning of the words is obvious and we do not question what the saying aims at as far as Caesar is concerned.
People will immediately think of such duties as: obeying the law, paying taxes, selecting just leaders by voting and… paying fines (if one is guilty of an offence involving such returns).
And what belongs to God? What are we expected to ‘render’ him?
Some will say: respect, adoration, obedience, prayer, thanksgiving, etc.
And much more…

All in all, it is plain, clear, simple, obvious!
But as I reflect on this gospel text I tell myself that, perhaps, yes perhaps… I should add something.
Not to the list of items to ‘give back’ but to the… beneficiaries!
Somehow, I feel that there are a number of people to whom I should return something for what they have done, and keep doing, for me.

My mind brings back to me the memory of:

– The good teachers who have provided me with sound knowledge.
– The skilled surgeon who operated on me and the medical staff who assisted him in bringing me back to health.
– The lawyer who wisely defended me when I had been wrongfully accused of a misdeed.
– The kind neighbour always ready to help me with this or that.
– The faithful friend always there when I need her assistance.
– The dynamic fellow coaching my children in their sport activities.
– The ever-smiling garage mechanic on whom I can safely rely.

This is my list… and you surely have yours…
I feel I should give back something to them for their kindness, their assistance, their good-humour, the wisdom they share with me, and their presence when I am in need.

Yes, I SHALL give back to Caesar, to God, and… to all those kind-hearted people who make life so much lighter and enjoyable!

Image: stjohspr.org

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Feast of the Holy Trinity, Year A

8 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Advocate, Bible, compassion, Ex.34:8-9, exegetes, faith, faithfulness, Father, Father-Son-Spirit, fourth century, God, John ch.14-17, kindness, New Testament, reality, Révélation, Saviour, Scripture scholars, tenderness, theologians, Trinity

If you mention the word ‘TRINITY’ to a group of theologians, or to some Scripture scholars, they will probably give you some lengthy explanations.
Exegetes, theology professors, spiritual authors will probably do the same.
Definitions and explanations, are their domain.
Expounding on concepts and themes is very much part of their expertise. 

Strangely enough, if you look for the word ‘TRINITY’ in the Bible, you will NOT find it!
You may think that it is amazing but it is true.
This word came to be used in the Christian language only late in the fourth century.
It was at that time that this term was used to express the faith of Christian believers.

But, you will find, yes, you will discover in the New Testament, the expression of this REALITY of a God who is one and who manifests Itself (this pronoun is not masculine or feminine) in three Persons.

It is in the chapters 14 to 17 of the gospel of John that we can perceive this most clearly.
There, we hear Jesus repeatedly speaking of the FATHER and of the SPIRIT as being one and himself being one with them.

The first reading of this feast of the Holy Trinity (Ex.34:4-6,8-9) tells us that God is “a God of tenderness and compassion, rich in kindness and faithfulness.”
So, what we celebrate on Trinity Sunday is this tenderness and compassion reaching us in a fatherly way, in the brotherly way of a Saviour, in the way of One who is our Advocate – for this is what they are to us and for us: the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

What more could be said?

Source: Image: Pinterest