Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16 / Matthew 11:25-27 (2020 / 2022)
To have faith in God means that we look and see with the eyes of faith and we also understand with hearts of faith.
To be a person of faith means that our faith is integrated into every aspect of our lives, and we see the hand of God shaping every event and every experience.
Yet if we put ourselves in the shoes of the people of God who were listening to the 1st reading, would we be able to see the hand of God directing the power of our enemy against us?
Yes, we have sinned, we have provoked the Lord, we have turned away from the Lord and have been unfaithful.
Our enemy have pillaged and plundered us, and stamped us like mud in the street. Will the Lord not have pity on us and save us from being cut to pieces?
Yet to have faith in this kind of horrible situation is certainly challenging but nonetheless it is critical to have that bit of faith in God.
Because we must believe what the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah in the 1st reading: Does the axe claim more credit than the man who wields it, or the saw more strength than the man who handles it?
To have faith in a critical situation also means that we have hearts like that of children who believe that God will protect us and will not let break us beyond our strength.
Yes, the hand that hurts is also the hand that heals, and we must see the hand of God directing and shaping every event and experience in our lives for our good.
To have faith means we must be able to see further and deeper and to see God in all things.