God's tender love resonates
by Sister Jane Riha
We have reached the fifth week of Lent and a time for us to reflect on how Lent has been for each of us. The Scripture readings for this Sunday are challenging and yet contain the tenderness of a God who loves us from the days of Jeremiah to the present. The passages remind us of a God who wants to touch our heart. In the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, God made a new covenant with the people of Israel, a holy commitment so intimate as to “write it upon their hearts.” God tells Jeremiah He will forgive their sins and not remember their sin.
As we draw close to the end of the Lenten Season, we might ask ourselves: Do I truly believe that God forgives me and does not even remember my sin? In all of the Scriptures passages for Sunday, a God who understands our humanness in every respect is revealed.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells his friends that the time is drawing near for his suffering and death by reminding them of the grain of wheat that that has to fall to the ground and die, in order to produce fruit.
The Scriptures are filled with emotion. God’s love is tender, merciful, and compassionate. We know that for certain because Jesus, God’s Son, suffered, died and rose from the dead out of love for each of us.
It is enough for me to know
the heart of God is with me,
full of mercy and compassion,
tending to the wounds I bear.
(Excerpt from “Leaning on the Heart of God” by Joyce Rupp)
Thank you for pointing out that the Sunday readings contain the tenderness of God and a reminder that God touches our hearts. I really like the verse by Joyce Rupp - it is enough to know that the heart of God is with me.