God: the glory in our midst restoring dashed hopes

In today's first reading, Zachariah 2: 5-9, 14-15, Zachariah is communicating a message of hope to a remnant of Israelites who return to Jerusalem from forty years of exile in Babylon.  They are devastating. Jerusalem lies in ruins.  The beautiful Temple built by Solomon is no more. In the midst of this devastation, angels appeal to Zachariah with the message: "People will live in Jerusalem as in an open country because of a multitude of people ...[and of herds of cattle and other animals] in her midst.  But I [the Lord] will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will  be the glory in her midst."

Hear the Lord saying that to us as we face the devastating effects of hurricanes, fires, floods,  tornadoes, tsunamis, wars, domestic violence; violence in our streets, schools, shopping malls, theaters; political wranglings and "wars" to maintain power over the other party.   In the rash of disasters, family members may be lost.  And, out of nowhere, an "angel" appears with a message of hope, reminding you that lost properties can be rebuilt, that life will get better, that there is work to be done and that you are all capable of doing that work.  Or, you yourself are the angel sent to areas of devastation to brighten their lives, bring hope, assist in the recovery efforts.  Yes, you yourself, God chooses to "be the glory in her midst." 

The Glory of God Shining through Darkness

In today’s first reading, 2 Cor 3: 15-4: 1, 3-6, we read:  “…[W]henever Moses is read, a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. ”  How true it is that “a veil lies over” our hearts until we “turn to the Lord.”  When Jesus died on the cross, “the veil was torn in two,” (Lk 23:45)  and we now are able to “see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”    

Our faces are unveiled and we are enabled to gaze upon the glory of God when we follow Jesus’ challenges and invitations  in today’s  Gospel, namely, when we refrain from abusive language, when we leave our gift on the altar and go first to be reconciled with our brother and sister and then return to give praise to our God, to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.  Our eyes are opened whenever we turn to the Lord  and bare our souls to Him, as did the woman caught in adultery, the blind man on the side of the road, the lepers calling out for pity, the hemorrhaging woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, the man by the pool of Siloam, the man born deaf, the woman who encounters Jesus at the well, and so many others.

How am I preparing myself to encounter the Lord and know the freedom that only God can give? Do I even realize that I need to be transformed by the Lord who is Spirit? How often do I sit at Jesus’ feet to experience what it means to gaze upon the face of God and be changed in the process into the image of Christ in today’s world. In fact, I might ask myself today: whose image am I, whose image do I reflect upon the world in which I live?  Does the “glory of Christ,  who is the image of God” shine through my actions?