Barth: God with us!

Monday, June 1, 2026
    Feast of Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165
    Commemoration of Angela de Merici, Founder of the Institute of St. Ursula, 1540
Meditation:
    “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”
    —Luke 12:49 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God with us! That is too strong a contradiction, not only over against our sins and sufferings but also against the nature of our existence even down to the very deepest depths of its roots. God with us! That conflicts too much, not only with our unrighteousness, but more yet, with our righteousness; not only with the atrocities of history, but more yet with history’s supposed progress and achievements; not only with the misery on earth, but more yet, with the supposed happiness and satisfaction on earth. God with us! That subjects our total human nature to a judgment, to a No, that will leave nothing left of us, and will bow us under a grace, a Yes, that we cannot comprehend. God with us! That is not only a better man, but a new man; not only a beautiful world, but an other world; not only a higher life, but an eternal life. God with us!
    ... Karl Barth (1886-1968), Come Holy Spirit: Sermons, New York: Round Table Press, 1933, reprint, Mowbrays, 1978, p. 118 (see the book)
    See also Luke 12:49; Isa. 7:14; 8:8; Joel 2:30-31; Matt. 1:23; Luke 12:51-52; Eph. 2:13-16
Quiet time reflection:
    Emmanuel, we yield! CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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