My dear parishioners, the expression in the ages of ages refers to the manifestation of divine mysteries beyond human understanding and impossibly beyond the vocabulary of time. Human beings, because we are mortal, perceive “ages” fundamentally in terms of past, present and future. Not so with God. Whether in the form of a thunder shaking the eternal cosmos or as a whisper in a moment of human time, God’s truth will forge the heavens’ stars and arrange the planets, summoning fire and ice to carve out valleys and fill the oceans.
In the ages of ages, God “brought us forth by the word of truth”. [Jam 1:18] “Let us make man in our image (said God), after our likeness”. [Gen 1:26] Thus humankind was situated at the apex of God’s creation, even as the “first fruits” of all earth’s creatures. [18] God’s word dwells in human time like light in a house, not by the power of mere words themselves but because: “In the beginning was the Word (Gk. Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” [Jn 1:1-3]
At a moment of his own choosing, God beckons Moses to convey his truth as a precious gift to pharaoh, King of Egypt, Lord of the Nile, Keeper of the Pyramids and Master of all the Beasts of Africa. The grievous slavery of the Hebrews, however, does not deter Moses from balking. “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent . . . but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” [Exo 4:10] God rebukes Moses’ feverish self-concern, saying, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” [11] Appointing Moses’ brother Aaron to accompany him, God declares his prophet to be the image of his own divinity: “Aaron shall speak for you to the people; and he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.” [16] Aaron is to speak for Moses before pharaoh, but Moses must speak to Aaron in the manner of God!
Many generations later, King David interpreted God's silence before sinful man as striking evidence of Israel’s profound deafness and wicked apostasy. The psalmist-king prayed in words we treasure as Psalm 28: “To thee, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the Pit.” [28:1] David draws a stunning conclusion. He equates God's silence and withdrawal from his sinful people as an experience of death. God speaks to man. Man stops listening. God stops speaking. Man withers and perishes. None of his vain words remember him. Not so with God! God alone speaks living words that resound through eternity, words that forever know the God who spoke them, words that draw light from darkness to illumine the earth and sustain the days, the years and the seasons of man. [cf Gen 1:14-15]
“To the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it”. [Deu 10:14] The fear of the Lord is the genuine response of a human being, created in God’s image, in his likeness, who kneels before God. The fear of the Lord is an act of justice! What does the Lord Jesus, the divine Logos, God’s messenger, say to you? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." [Lk 10:27] Give to God what the Most High desires all human beings to give to him. Open your heart! Love God! Give your love to God!
This is the supremely fitting response of people who delight in God and in one another. You have been chosen by God who, by an eternal word of truth, created you! [cf. Eph 1:13] When will you, in turn, choose God? Far from the human emotions of alarm or anxiety, the fear of the Lord means giving your loving God a supremely holy respect, a consummate reverence, a wordless sense of wonderment and a transcendent awe. Kneel before God with your head bowed and whisper, You are God, I am not. Ask God to change you “into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” [2Cor 3:18] Sincerely in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker. +++
My dear parishioners, the expression in the ages of ages refers to the manifestation of divine mysteries beyond human understanding and impossibly beyond the vocabulary of time. Human beings, because we are mortal, perceive “ages” fundamentally in terms of past, present and future. Not so with God. Whether in the form of a thunder shaking the eternal cosmos or as a whisper in a moment of human time, God’s truth will forge the heavens’ stars and arrange the planets, summoning fire and ice to carve out valleys and fill the oceans.