Daily Reflections- July 7, 2012

THE RAINBOW OF GOD

 

“The Lord speaks of peace to His people.”

This is today’s Responsorial Psalm antiphon. It invites us to say yes to God’s ancient offer of friendship.

I say ancient because it has always been there, from the very first pages of the Bible. In the book of Genesis, God offered Noah the sign of the rainbow. It came with a promise and assurance, “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you... that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood, there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth” (Genesis 9:8-9). The rainbow actually is the sign of God’s friendship, the offer of reconciliation.

The rainbow is the bow (and arrow) of God put eternally to rest, telling man that His anger is now a thing of the past. Man is once more called to a covenant of friendship. Every time man looks up the sky and sees a rainbow, he is to see an archer’s bow retired and hung on the wall, never to be used again.

In the New Covenant, Jesus is not only the manifestation but the personification of God’s friendship. In fact He is the ultimate manifestation. “In times past, God spoke in varied and fragmentary ways. But in these last days, he spoke to us through a son....” (Hebrews 1:1ff). Jesus is also the rainbow of God and we are invited to accept that rainbow.

But how do we accept Him? Jesus uses the image of new wineskins for new wine. We accept Jesus when we heed His clarion call, “Reform your lives and believe in the Good News!” (Mark 1:15).

Reforming our lives is saying no to temptation and saying yes to God’s friendship. That could be threatening. This is why Jesus speaks of the need for new wineskins to carry new wine. We need to throw away the old wineskins of our sinfulness to accept the new wine of Jesus’ offer of salvation. Fr. Joel Jason

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What old “wineskin” do you need to discard in your life right now? When was the last time you drank the “new wine” of the sacrament of  reconciliation?

 

Lord Jesus, draw me to drink from Your cup of salvation. Amen.