"You are great, Lord, and highly to be praised," begins the first paragraph of Augustine's Confessions. Although humankind bears "'his mortality with him', carrying with him the witness of his sin and the witness that you 'resist the proud'...Nevertheless," Augustine prays, "to praise you is the desire of man, a little piece of your creation. You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." Doubtless you have heard this refrain before but possibly did not know where it came from. "You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you." It is the theme of the Confessions and of Augustine's story found in its pages.
"The LORD our righteousness", the Israelites said of YHWH, their faithful, covenant, creator-God.
"He himself is our peace", said the apostle Paul of Jesus, YHWH incarnate, God in the flesh "reconciling the world to Himself."
Jesus himself says, "come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
And we therefore follow the urging of the author of Hebrews who says, "let us therefore strive to enter that rest."
So we say, "Yes, Lord. You urge us to 'keep ourselves in your love, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.' So fill us with 'joy and peace in believing' so that we may 'abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit'. We are yours; you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you."
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