(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
Cyrus, king of Persia, allowed the Israelites to return and rebuild their homeland. Apparently, not everyone jumped at the chance to return home. It was the prophet’s task to encourage them. “Say to the prisoners, come out, time to go home,” says the Lord.
God continues working. Jesus once claimed that God continues to work until now (John 5:17), without taking vacations. For the returning Israelites, God would work like an engineer, building bridges and smoothing highways for the easy and safe passage of the people. The Lord would not forget his people. Unlike a mother, who possibly could forget her child, the Lord will never forget his children, his people.
Mariupol is devastated. Its people have been deported. Mass graves conceal the numbers of those who have died. Grief, sorrow, anxiety, anger, frustration, starvation and death surround the people and city.
Were the prophet to tell them that the Lord has not forgotten them, how would the people receive this news? Were the prophet to announce a day of return, a day of rebuilding, how would the people respond? Were we asked to contribute to the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the city and its people, how would we respond?
We are being asked for financial and physical, as well as spiritual, support for the people of Ukraine by many organizations. If God sends these organizations to our doors, does this mean that God is sending us prophets? If so, how do we respond to God and the prophets God sends? If God says to the people of Ukraine, return and rebuild, does not God intend that we take part in this rebuilding?
The prophet Isaiah had to cajole his people into returning home. The prophet is ready to cajole us, if necessary, into responding to the call to support the people of Ukraine. God is always active among us and never takes vacations. Our task is to listen to the voice of the Lord and to work with God for the fulness of rebuilding and rehabilitation.