Confusing readings
I've been thinking about this line, from the end of the first reading today (Is 30:26):
On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left by his blows.
I love the image of God binding up our wounds and healing our bruises. We all have those emotional wounds and bruised psyches that need healing, and God can be trusted to bring peace to those places. But what does it mean that they are "left by his blows"?
I think I have to pair it with another phrase from the same passage to make sense of it:
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher.
Does God hide from us? I don't think so, but we sometimes hide from God. I've been reading Paul Coutinho's How Big Is Your God, and he speaks of God's non-interference. God will not force us to see the work God does in our lives--we can choose to ignore it if we wish. I have a hard time believing that God would hide from us, but I have no doubt that I hide from God sometimes, even sometimes when I know I'm better off not to do so.
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