Folia Theologica et Canonica 10. 32/24 (2021)

Sacra theologia

I AM WITH YOU EVERY DAY... (GOD’S PROMISES ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES) 37

second part of the study, we will show how the fullness of the promises is realized in Christ. Finally, in the light of the experience of the early Church, we will examine the power of God’s promises, which are still a living and vital reality in our personal and faithful lives, knowing ourselves to be heirs of the promise.

II. Holiness of God

The image of holiness in non-biblical religions is usually impersonal and neutral, denoting a situation in itself, but never assuming a relationship. In contrast, the Holy One of the Old Testament is a personal God, who is referred to in many places in the Scriptures as the Holy One of Israel. The ontological holiness of God is not comparable to anything on earth, so it is difficult to approach without metaphors. The source of all holiness is God, who himself is the Holy One: “I am God, not human, the Holy One who lives in your midst” (Hosea 11:9). The Old Testament, when it speaks of God’s love, mercy and faithfulness, always uses expressions that presuppose a relationship between God and man. The Scriptures testify that the holy God seeks to reveal himself to human beings; he longs to share his holiness with us. His primary contact is with one or other of his chosen ones, with whom he initiates a mutual and free cooperation.2 The dialogue he initiates unfolds most often through his promises.

The Old Testament does not speak of a God who remains aloof from the world. The God of Israel does not revolve around himself; the Lord reveals himself: he gives revelation to his people through his prophets. The object of his revelation is first and foremost himself; through his works he wishes to make himself known to man. The Bible always portrays God in the light of his relationship with man. God is therefore always the God of someone who is and always wants to remain in relationship with man; who reveals himself as God living for us, with us, among us. His revelation thus creates a communion in which man is enabled to encounter his Creator.

Although man is not essentially holy, God desires to make him a partaker of his own holiness. It is a gift in return for which God asks only one thing of man: acceptance, which has never been easy for man. But God takes care to prepare the soul of the finite creature to receive the infinite holiness, and from the beginning he is careful to create for his chosen ones’ situations which make this reception possible even within the limited human framework. This can be done through his contemplation of the created world and through his

2 de Taizé, J., L 'aventure de la sainteté. Fondements bibliques et perspectives actuelles, Taizé 1997. 15-40.