The Pre-Conditions God Sets For Us In His Mercy Series

Saturday of the First Week in Lent

Today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah is the second part of a very late prophecy, one that appears to have been written down years after the Babylonian exile. The prophet Zechariah tells us that in this late period, there were fasts in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth month, and when they were complete, there was a season of joy, gladness and cheerful feasts. But here, Isaiah tells us, God tells Israel that their fasts are worthless, because–we heard yesterday–“in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.” If they are fasting to get God’s attention, they are getting the kind of divine attention that nobody wants. God turns away from our fasting unless we are getting our behavior together, acting and thinking justly, obeying the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Thus, today, with that change in social habits outlined, God promises that He will hear the people’s cry for help. And God’s requirement goes beyond just avoiding evil conduct. No. He wants us to not just feed the hungry, but pour ourselves out for them. I think that means spend enough time in that corporal work of mercy that we reduce the future need. Perhaps we would teach the poor how to plant a garden, and arrange for the space they need to do it. The promises made by God to those who live like that are awesome. Guiding us all the time; satisfying our desire with good things. We’ll be like a garden with continuous water supplies. But you know that God’s plan for the just and merciful is even more profound. The continuous water is the grace that comes from the sacraments, given us in the blood and water pouring from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.. The rebuilt foundations are the apostles, on which is built a Church whose life and conquest are guaranteed by God.

The loving compassion of our God is then celebrated in our day’s psalm, where we ask God for something He longs to give us–His constant listening, and the preservation of our spiritual life and health. When Jesus then calls Levi and dines with the outcast of society, representative of us sinners, He is embodying the promises of Zechariah and Isaiah and John the Baptist. He is the fulfillment of the whole OT prophecies in His person, the God-man who gives Himself for our salvation.