BELIEVE IN PROVIDENCE

king saulby zoharglait

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Traditional Art / Drawings / People©2011-2016 zoharglait

We went to celebrate the Eucharist this morning and from the time that it took to introduce ourselves to the sacred environment we came to the realization that this is the moment of remembering that Christ is our king.
We started the Liturgy of the Word with a short reminder from the first book of Samuel, chapter 8 and following.  
This is the beginning of the story of how the Israelites got a king in the first place.  The story of the transition from being a loose agglomeration of tribes to a kingdom is one of the most captivating sections of the Bible.  I strongly recommend that you read it.

The first king that God gave them was named Saul.  This name means "asked" or "requested."  As it turns out, he was not a good king.  Until he came along, the "king" of the people was God Himself.  This was not working very well.  There were prophets and judges helping Him with the earthly organization, but it was not going well.  This was especially true when it came to organizing themselves for war.  They were getting badly beaten by the people who had kings at their head.  So they asked God, through his Prophet/Patriarch, Samuel to give them a king.  Long story made short, God gave them what they asked for.  As you progress in your reading, you will notice that it did not go well with Saul.  Saul committed a lot of sins.  A lot!  His final one was falling on his own sword.  
I am telling you this story (I wish I had more time) because it is a perfect example of getting what you had no idea you would get as a response to your request.  As you read the story, you will see that this guy was more interested in his own welfare than in fulfilling the will of God for the good of the people.  He was so bad that at a given point of the story God disowns Saul.  This was not a good start for the Chosen People.  
Enter, David, the ancestor of Jesus.

I am letting you decide whether or not you have parallels that you want to draw between the story of Saul and the actual time in which we are now living.  If you spend some time reading the historical story of Saul (It happens at about 1010 BC) you will see that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  You will also see that we must be careful about what we ask for.  You will also see that there is a solution, or at least a resolution of the situation.  You will also see that it is important to stay close to God in every aspect of our lives.  You will see that God is tough on Saul but sees to it that the people overcome the disunity caused by the failed king and come back together under the God fearing king David.

It is in this context that Jesus, the descendant of David and who is the Son of God comes and unifies the people, not just of David but of the entire universe.  He does so by being the complete opposite of human kings...first and foremost by being perfectly obedient to the Will of God.

I guarantee that if you take the time to read the story of Saul you will have a wonderful experience.  Your emotions will swing from joy to sorrow; from tears to smiles; from disgust to admiration and finally to satisfaction for having discovered another dimension of Sacred Scripture.  
Thank God for that and remember that no crying is allowed at my funeral.

THE STARS OF THE SKY, THE GRAINS OF THE BEACH SAND

La foi naît de l'appel de Dieu. Personne ne peut prendre le crédit pour la foi  et la conversion.personnelles. Ce n'était pas Abraham qui a pris l'initiative de partir ou d'inventer une nouvelle façon de servir Dieu. Ni Dieu l'a-t-il inviter avec une proposition qu'il pouvait contester avec sa propre opinion. Dieu l'a appelé à l'impératif et c'est de la même manière que les prophètes et les saints glorieux ont été appelés.
C'est de cette façon que Dieu les a libérés. En conséquence du péché, tous les êtres humains naissent et vivent dans la terre étrangère du péché. La plénitude de notre réalité personnelle n'est pas fondée sur Dieu aussi longtemps que nous ne sommes pas en communion avec Lui. Nos religions et nos idéologies qui sont les produits de notre culture ne nous permettent pas de dépasser les limites d'un monde que nous faisons par et pour nous-mêmes, selon la mesure de nos propres ressources. Afin que nous puissions tirer pleinement conscience de notre appel, il est nécessaire que Dieu nous appelle et que nous acceptions l'invitation à sortir du cercle fatal.

La foi nous met au service de la volonté de Dieu, qui est de sauver l'humanité. Il est possible que pour un moment Dieu nous attire avec une faveur personnelle, mais sous peu, il nous insère dans ses projets à la fin de sauver le monde. Afin de suivre le Christ et faire partie de son peuple élu, il est nécessaire de croire aux promesses que Dieu a faites à son peuple. Dieu nous a prédestinés à être le levain et la lumière du monde.

La foi exige une rupture. Elle nous oblige à regarder de l'avant sans nostalgie de la chaleur et le confort du sein maternel. Les êtres humains se développent en surmontant «crise» après «crise» dans la vie. Ils quittent leur famille, vont travailler, se marient ... La foi nous donne la force de faire face à ces ruptures avec optimisme et nous amène au point où nous pouvons affronter de plus douloureuses. Ce processus nous permet d'entrer plus profondément dans le service de Dieu. La foi est le plus grand moyen par lequel les humains grandissent dans la maturité.

La foi d'Abraham nous enseigne la différence entre l'homme terrestre qui construit sa vie selon les normes de la sagesse humaine et croit qu'il sait où il va, et la personne de la foi qui cherche les signes de Dieu afin de voir où Dieu veut que la voie à suivre doit être. Pour toute une vie, l'homme de foi est un errant, un pèlerin cherchant une justice supérieure, la justice pure et une plus grande perfection que celle qui est le produit de confection purement humaine.

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FAITH –

Faith is born of a call from God.  No one can take the credit for personal faith and conversion.  It was not Abraham who took the initiative to leave or to invent a new way to serve God.  Neither did God invite him with a proposal that he could contest with his own opinion.  God called him in the imperative and this is the same way that the glorious prophets and saints were called.

It is in this way that God freed us.   As a consequence of sin, all humans are born and live in the foreign land of sin.  The fullness of our personal reality is not grounded in God for as long as we are not in communion with Him.  Our religions and our ideologies as products of our culture do not permit us to transcend the limits of a world that we make by and for ourselves according to the measure of our own resources.   In order for us to take full conscience of our call, it is necessary for God to call us and that we accept the invitation to escape the fatal circle.

Faith places us in the service of God’s will which is to save humanity.  It is possible that for a moment God attracts us with a personal favor, but then he inserts us into His specific projects to the end of saving the world.  In order to follow Christ and be a part of His Chosen People, it is necessary to believe in the promises that God made to His people.  God destined us to be the yeast and the light of the world.

Faith requires a breaking away.  It obliges us to look forward without yearning for the warmth and comfort of the womb.  Humans grow by overcoming “crisis” after “crisis” in life.  They leave their family, go to work, get married… Faith gives us the strength to confront these ruptures with optimism and brings us to the point where we can confront more painful ones.  This process allows us to enter more deeply into the service of God.  Faith is the greatest medium through which humans grow into maturity.

The Faith of Abraham teaches us the difference between earthly human who construct their lives according to the standards of human wisdom and believe that they know where they are going, and the person of faith who seeks the signs of god in order to see where God wills the path forward to be.  For an entire life, the person of faith is a wanderer,  a pilgrim seeking higher righteousness, purer justice and greater perfection than that which is the product of purely human confection.

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La fe nace de una llamada de Dios. No se puede tomar el crédito por la fe personal y la conversión. No fue Abraham quien tomó la iniciativa de salir de su tierra o de inventar una nueva manera de servir a Dios. Tampoco Dios lo invitó con una propuesta que podría disputar con su propia opinión. Dios lo llamó en el imperativo y es de la misma manera que los gloriosos profetas y los santos fueron llamados.

Es de esta manera que Dios nos liberó. Como consecuencia del pecado, todos los seres humanos nacen y viven en el país extranjero del pecado. La plenitud de nuestra realidad personal no se basa en Dios por el tiempo que no estamos en comunión con él. Nuestras religiones e ideologías como nuestros productos de nuestra cultura no nos permiten trascender los límites de un mundo que hacemos por y para nosotros mismos de acuerdo a la medida de nuestros propios recursos. Para que podamos tomar conciencia plena de nuestra llamada, es necesario que Dios nos llama y que aceptamos la invitación a salir del círculo fatal.

La fe nos pone al servicio de la voluntad de Dios que ha por fin de salvar a la humanidad. Es posible que por un momento que Dios nos atrae con un favor personal, pero luego nos inserta en sus proyectos específicos a fin de salvar al mundo. Con el fin de seguir a Cristo y ser una parte de su pueblo elegido, es necesario creer en las promesas que Dios hizo a su pueblo. Dios nos predestinó a ser la levadura y la luz del mundo.

La fe requiere una ruptura. Esto nos obliga a mirar hacia adelante sin anhelo de la calidez y el conforte del seno maternal. Los seres humanos crecen mediante la superación de "crisis" después de "crisis" en la vida. Dejan su familia, van a trabajar, se casan ... La fe nos da la fuerza para aguantar estas rupturas con optimismo y nos lleva al punto en que podemos enfrentar las más dolorosas. Este proceso nos permite entrar más profundamente en el servicio de Dios. La fe es el mejor medio a través del cual los seres humanos se convierten en su madurez.

La fe de Abraham nos enseña la diferencia entre los hombres terrenal que construyen sus vidas de acuerdo a los estándares de la sabiduría humana y creen que saben a dónde van, y la persona de fe que busca los signos de Dios con el fin de ver dónde Dios quiere indicar el rumbo a seguir.  Por toda una vida, la persona de fe es un errante, un peregrino que busca mayor justicia, justicia más pura y una mayor perfección de la que es el producto de confección meramente humana.