Fr. David's Lent Reflections

Day 37:

Here we come to the 37th day of our Lenten journey, God bless you as you travel the path to the Cross and to our Lord’s resurrection. Our reading from scripture is Isaiah 49:6-10

And he said to me, It is a great thing for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the God of Israel, Sanctify him that despises his life, him that is abhorred by the nations that are the servants of princes: kings shall behold him, and princes shall arise, and shall worship him, for the Lord's sake: for the Holy One of Israel is faithful, and I have chosen thee.

8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations, to establish the earth, and to cause to inherit the desert heritages: 9 saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness show themselves. They shall be fed in all the ways, and in all the paths shall be their pasture. They shall not hunger, neither shall they thirst; neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; but he that has mercy on them shall comfort them, and by fountains of waters shall he lead them.

What a beautiful passage: “Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I have formed thee, and given thee for a covenant of the nations … saying to them that are in bonds, Go forth; and bidding them that are in darkness show themselves.” What, brothers and sisters, is the acceptable time? When will the day of salvation arrive? St. Paul used this quotation from Isaiah in his second epistle to the Corinthians: “Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation.” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” To what does St. Paul refer? He’s talking about the incarnation of Christ, His crucifixion (which we commemorate in just a few days), and His resurrection. Those events, Jesus Christ, is the coming of the salvation of God. What more could we want? What additional revelation from the Father is necessary? We have, in Jesus Christ, all we need. He Himself is the acceptable time, now is the acceptable time, the New Testament of grace, the gospel of our Lord and Savior.