Giving of Oneself

Scientists have recently begun to discuss the idea that the primary force behind all life in the universe is self gift. This is how everything from galaxies to human babies are born and sustained.

If we read the opening of today’s passage from Isaiah correctly, we see that he anticipated twentieth-century scientists by over twenty five hundred years. Using the self-giving example of the rain and snow clouds that water the earth that then yields fruit, which in turn is given over to nourish creatures, Isaiah leads us to understand that the primary force behind all life is the word of God. The ultimate giving of that word, we believe, was Jesus Christ, who, in the greatest revelation of divine love, gave of himself on the cross.

To what degree are we in touch with that self-giving God in whose image we are made? To what extent do we really follow the self-giving example of Christ into whose death and resurrection we were baptized, whose ultimate self-gift we celebrate every week in the Eucharist? With God’s help, our lives can be like Isaiah’s rain and snow, and we will not return to heaven until we have done our part to make the earth fruitful.