God wills restoration

Joel completes his prophesy about Israel with the promise of the restoration of the the fortunes of the people of God in Jerusalem after they choose to repent and return to the Covenant. The Roman Catholic Lectionary today offers Psalm 97 as praise to the power and glory of God. The psalmist proclaims the mountains melting like wax before the Lord. This is reminiscent of watching the video of the disappearance of Mount St. Helens in Washington State. The promises of restoration of intimate relationship are insured by the awesome Presence witnessed in the world around us. The Gospel of Luke eludes to the need to remind ourselves of the Transcendent nature of being in intimate communion with the Divine as Jesus refocuses the blessing of a woman in the crowd from recognizing birth and care of a messianic human to the truth of Messiah who is blessed in hearing and acting on the Word of God. The blessing is offered to those in intimate relationship with Jesus as they hear and respond to the will of God.