Fr. David's Lent Reflections day 27

Day 27:

On this fourth Saturday of our Lenten journey, let’s pause to look at the section of Isaiah we’ve just read, chapter 14, then chapters 25-29. These chapters say much about the plans of God, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, As I have said, so it shall be: and as I have purposed, so the matter shall remain” from chapter 14, and “O Lord God, I will glorify thee, I will sing to thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even an ancient and faithful counsel. So be it” from chapter 25.

As Isaiah said, So be it. The word in the original is γένοιτο, which has the sense of something being born, or starting (we get the name of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, from this word). We sometimes view the unexpected and difficult things that happen to us as suddenly coming into being, as if everything is random. But everything is born, and birth does not happen suddenly. The moment of birth begins many months, and we might say years, before the event itself. And indeed, the moment of birth then begins its own process, which goes on (hopefully) for many years.

I think this is the lesson of this part of Isaiah. The destruction of the infrastructure of the Jewish nation had started many years before it was accomplished, and launched a new history for the nation that would go on for many years after. The lesson for us is that we rest in the plans and counsel of God, we find stillness and peace in Him because we know that He is at work constantly to accomplish His will. So today, let’s say with the prophet: “So be it.”