God the Refuge of
the Abandoned
Fr Varghese Parappuram
V C
"Do not wonder at the works
of the sinner , but trust in the Lord and keep at your job; for it is easy
in the sight of the Lord to make the poor rich suddenly, in an instant"(Sir
11-21).
Very few people have not
had at some time or other the experience of God coming to their rescue
in a helpless situation.Do we not have the experience of unexpected assistance
when all doors are closed and we are in despair thinking there is no way
out ? Such instances that prompt us to think of God coming directly to
help us out, indicate that God's blessings come to us in amazing and inexplicable
ways. Those, who call on God and wait on him in patience in the midst of
failure and despair, can never fail to receive his marvellous mercies.
The saying that "God is the help of the helpless" is not a mere proverb;
it is also the experience of most of us. We can see similar examples also
in the Old and New Testaments.
"God opened her eyes"
The centre of a woman's
life is her child. The moment of her greatest sorrow and failure is the
situation when she cannot save the life of her child. The story of Hagar
in the Old Testament is one such example. At the peak of helplessness and
despair, God intervenes in a wonderful manner. As Abraham did not have
a child by his wife Sarah, her maid Hagar was offered to Abraham according
to the prevalent custom. Hagar conceived and gave birth to a son. He was
called Ishmael. Hagar, now a mother, began looking down on Sarah who was
still barren. (cf Gen 16:4).
Eventually Sarah, according
to God's promise, gave birth to a son. Sarah did not relish the sight of
Ishmael playing with her son Isaac. She said to Abraham, "Cast out this
slave woman with her son;for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit
along with my son Isaac" (Gen 21:10).Abraham was troubled thinking of his
son Ishmael. All the same, Abraham rose early in the morning, took bread
and a skin of water, put it on her shoulder and sent her away along with
the child. She departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba(cf
Gen 21:14).
When the water was over,
Hagar left the child under a bush and refusing to witness its death, sat
down opposite him at a distance. The child began crying aloud and God heard
the voice of the boy (cf Gen 21:15-17). God's power intervened in the life
of Hagar, now become the image of helplessness and despair. "Then God opened
her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with
water, and gave the boy a drink"(Gen 21-19).
Revelation of God's
mercy at the peak of disaster
God's marvellous intervention
took place in the life of Hagar and Ishmael when all hope was lost, there
was nothing else to do but succumb to death. Her mistress Sarah and her
husband Abraham had abandoned her. There was no one to help her and her
son.In such a situation God came to their aid.
When in the deepest depth
of despair, God intervenes, we see many things that were hitherto hidden
from us; we understand many things which until then were inexplicable.
It was only when God opened Hagar's eyes that she could see the well. Perhaps
the well was there already.When God gives enlightenment and insight, we
can see old things in a new light and understand in a new manner. Thus
we can discover new ways of confronting the problems of life.
When Tobias, the son of
Tobit, wanted to go to far-away Ecbatana in Media, he had no one to accompany
him. His father Tobit was old and blind. And there appeared a young man,
the angel Raphael. (cf Tobit 5-4). He kept Tobias company all through his
journey.
"Then their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him"
The two disciples going
to Emmaus were very sad and dejected. With the merciless crucifixion of
Jesus , all their hopes were shattered. They had hoped that Jesus would
be the redeemer of Israel (cf Lk 24:21). From the expression "had hoped"
it is clear that they no more entertained such hopes. Jesus suddenly appeared
as they were walking along in their state of despair and distress. Jesus
spoke to them and interpreted the scriptures to them. He sat down with
them for supper, took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
"Then their eyes were opened , and they recognised him" (Lk 24:31).
As in the case of Hagar
, it was when all the expectations of these disciples were dashed to the
ground and they were plunged in despair, that Jesus came upon the scene.
And their eyes were opened and they recognised Jesus. They were able to
see all the events that happened with a new insight, in a new light. Their
faith, which had reached a critical point, was revived.
"God raised him up,
having freed him from death" (Acts 2-24)
The resurrection of Jesus
is evidence of God's marvellous intervention that is beyond the grasp of
the human mind. Every hope was shattered. When death had taken place-and
a cruel crucifixion at that - what was there left to hope for! Thus in
a state of utter helplessness when there was nothing more to expect, humanly
speaking, God revealed his power. "God raised him up, having freed him
from death" (Acts 2:24). "God also highly exalted him and gave him the
name that is above every name" (Phil 2:9).
Thus the amazing work of
God, who raised the one who had become the very personification of nothingness,
into the Lordship of all things, gives the believer long-standing patience
in prayer and hope in failure. The conviction that God succours those who
have no one to help them, inspires believers to call on God with hope in
the midst of the most hopeless situation.