I will carry you on Eagles wings

In the Hobbit, Eagles seem to turn up at the right time to rescue Gandalf and his friends from danger. Tolkien often imagined that the Eagles would carry you towards the dawn of a new day. He said in reflecting on the Eagles, “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.” It echoes the word of God calling to Moses on the mountain, “How I have carried you on eagle’s wings and carried you to myself. There is a deep bond between God and his people in which he seeks to embrace the themes of hope, freedom, and connection with the creative power of God.

This is where Paul writing to the Romans also emphasises how God seeks to rescue us even when we seem to at odds with him and might even be considered God’s enemies. It was this desire of God that sought to cover the distance between us through the profound act of reconciliation. This was the giving of a life for the sake of another so that they could experience the joy of God that makes us a priestly people and a consecrated nation. We are filled with a joyful trust in God through Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

This is a continuing event that hear described in the Gospel of St Matthew where the twelve disciples are called to cast out unclean spirits and heal people. The naming of the disciples whom he commissions to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is nearby. This saving mission is initially reserved to the lost sheep of the House of Israel where we notice how Jesus commissions them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out devils. This is considered a gift that they have received to pass on to others.

St Anthony of Padua reflected on this Gospel passage by saying, “So the religious soul finds in the heart of Jesus a secure refuge against the wiles and attacks of Satan, and a delightful retreat. But we must not rest merely at the entrance to the hole in the rock, we must penetrate its depths. At the mouth of the deep hollow, at the mouth of the wound in his side we shall, indeed, find the precious blood which has redeemed us. This blood pleads for us and demands mercy for us. But the religious soul must not stay at the entrance. When she has heard, and understood, the voice of the divine blood, she must hasten to the very source from which it springs, into the very innermost sanctuary of the heart of Jesus. There she will find light, peace, and ineffable consolations (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/893390).”

Yet he also cautioned those who listened to him when he said, “Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day, faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems. (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/893390.)” This was said eight hundred years ago and yet we face the same challenges of proclaiming the truth with joy and simplicity. We seek to be the person that God called us to be rather than trying to imitate someone else.

Each of us in our own ways are called to be drawn closer to God. This is not by striving to be powerful, spectacular, or relevant but seeking to allow the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to form us and guide us. The Kingdom of God is within you it is in your heart and on your lips that you may live the truth with joy and peace.