Christ's Sermon in the synagogue
Posted on 02/04/2014 10:19:03 PM PST by Salvation
February 5, 2014
Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17
King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,
“Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba
and register the people, that I may know their number.”
Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered:
in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service;
in Judah, five hundred thousand.
Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people,
and said to the LORD:
“I have sinned grievously in what I have done.
But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant,
for I have been very foolish.”
When David rose in the morning,
the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying:
“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says:
I offer you three alternatives;
choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.’”
Gad then went to David to inform him.
He asked: “Do you want a three years’ famine to come upon your land,
or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you,
or to have a three days’ pestilence in your land?
Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me.”
David answered Gad: “I am in very serious difficulty.
Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful;
but let me not fall by the hand of man.”
Thus David chose the pestilence.
Now it was the time of the wheat harvest
when the plague broke out among the people.
The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel
from morning until the time appointed,
and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.
But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it,
the LORD regretted the calamity
and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people,
“Enough now! Stay your hand.”
The angel of the LORD was then standing
at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
When David saw the angel who was striking the people,
he said to the LORD: “It is I who have sinned;
it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong.
But these are sheep; what have they done?
Punish me and my kindred.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R. (see 5c) Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
Gospel Mk 6:1-6
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,
accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Feast Day: February 5
Born: Catania or Palermo
Died: 251, Catania
Patron of: bellfounders; breast cancer; bakers; against fire; earthquakes; eruptions of Mount Etna; fire; jewelers; martyrs; natural disasters; nurses; rape victims; single laywomen; sterility; torture victims; volcanic eruptions; wetnurses
St. Agatha
Feast Day: February 05
Born:(around)220 :: Died:250
A beautiful Christian girl named Agatha lived in Sicily in the third century. The governor heard of Agatha's beauty and brought her to his palace. He wanted to make her commit sins, but she was brave and would not give in. "My Lord Jesus Christ," she prayed, "you see my heart and you know my desire. I am all yours. Save me from this evil man. Make me worthy of winning out over the devil."
The governor then sent Agatha to the house of a wicked woman and hoped she would become bad too. But Agatha had great trust in God and prayed all the time. She kept herself pure. She would not listen to the evil ideas of the woman and her daughters.
After a month, she was brought back to the governor. He tried again to win her. "You are a noblewoman," he said kindly. "Why have you lowered yourself to be a humble Christian?"
"Even though I am a noble," answered Agatha, "I am a slave of Jesus Christ." "Then what does it really mean to be noble?" the governor asked. Agatha answered, "It means to serve God."
When he realized that she would not sin, the governor became angry. He had Agatha whipped and tortured. As she was being carried back to prison she whispered, "Lord, my Creator, you have protected me from the cradle. You have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Now receive my soul." Agatha soon died a martyr at Catania, Sicily, in the year 250.
Why do Christians address Jesus as "Lord"?
"You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am" (Jn 13:13).
The early Christians spoke as a matter of course about Jesus as "Lord", knowing that in the Old Testament this title was reserved as a form of addressing God. Through many signs Jesus had shown them that he had divine power over nature, demons, sin, and death. The divine origin of Jesus' mission was revealed in his Resurrection from the dead. Thomas confessed, "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28). For us this means that since Jesus is "the Lord", a Christian may not bend his knee to any other power.
Why did God become man in Jesus?
"For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven" (Nicene Creed).
In Jesus Christ, God reconciled the world to himself and redeemed mankind from the imprisonment of sin. "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son" (Jn 3:16). In Jesus, God took on our mortal human flesh (Incarnation), shared our earthly lot, our sufferings, and our death, and became one like us in all things but sin. (YOUCAT questions 75-76)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (446-463) and other references here.
Part 1: The Profession of Faith (26 - 1065)
Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith (185 - 1065)
Chapter 2: I Believe in Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God (422 - 682)
Article 2: "And in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord" (430 - 455)
IV. LORD ⇡
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the ineffable Hebrew name YHWH, by which God revealed himself to Moses,59 is rendered as Kyrios, "Lord". From then on, "Lord" becomes the more usual name by which to indicate the divinity of Israel's God. The New Testament uses this full sense of the title "Lord" both for the Father and — what is new — for Jesus, who is thereby recognized as God Himself.60
59.
Cf. Ex 3:14.
60.
Cf. 1 Cor 2:8.
Jesus ascribes this title to himself in a veiled way when he disputes with the Pharisees about the meaning of Psalm 110, but also in an explicit way when he addresses his apostles.61 Throughout his public life, he demonstrated his divine sovereignty by works of power over nature, illnesses, demons, death and sin.
61.
Cf. Mt 22:41-46; cf. Acts 2:34-36; Heb 1:13; Jn 13:13.
Very often in the Gospels people address Jesus as "Lord". This title testifies to the respect and trust of those who approach him for help and healing.62 At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, "Lord" expresses the recognition of the divine mystery of Jesus.63 In the encounter with the risen Jesus, this title becomes adoration: "My Lord and my God!" It thus takes on a connotation of love and affection that remains proper to the Christian tradition: "It is the Lord!"64
62.
Cf Mt 8:2; 14:30; 15:22; et al.
63.
Cf. Lk 1:43; 2:11.
64.
By attributing to Jesus the divine title "Lord", the first confessions of the Church's faith affirm from the beginning that the power, honor and glory due to God the Father are due also to Jesus, because "he was in the form of God",65 and the Father manifested the sovereignty of Jesus by raising him from the dead and exalting him into his glory.66
65.
Cf. Acts 2:34-36; Rom 9:5; Titus 2:13; Rev 5:13; Phil 2:6.
66.
Cf. Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Phil 2:9-11.
From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not "the Lord".67 "The Church... believes that the key, the center and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master."68
67.
Cf. Rev 11:15; Mk 12:17; Acts 5:29.
68.
GS 10 § 3; Cf. 45 § 2.
Christian prayer is characterized by the title "Lord", whether in the invitation to prayer ("The Lord be with you"), its conclusion ("through Christ our Lord") or the exclamation full of trust and hope: Maran atha ("Our Lord, come!") or Marana tha ("Come, Lord!") — "Amen Come Lord Jesus!"69
69.
IN BRIEF ⇡
The name Jesus means "God saves". The child born of the Virgin Mary is called Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1:21): "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
The title "Christ" means "Anointed One" (Messiah). Jesus is the Christ, for "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38). He was the one "who is to come" (Lk 7:19), the object of "the hope of Israel" (Acts 28:20).
The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father (cf. Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18); he is God himself (cf. Jn 1:1). To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (cf. Acts 8:37; 1 Jn 2:23).
The title "Lord" indicates divine sovereignty. To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity. "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit'" (1 Cor 12:3).
Article 3: "He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary" (456 - 570)
Paragraph 1: The Son of God Became Man (456 - 483)
I. WHY DID THE WORD BECOME FLESH? ⇡
With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."
The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins": "the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world", and "he was revealed to take away sins":70 Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in the darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?71
70.
71.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, Orat. catech 15: PG 45, 48B.
The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love: "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him."72 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."73
72.
73.
The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."74 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!"75 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you."76 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.77
74.
75.
Mk 9:7; cf. Deut 6:4-5.
76.
77.
Cf. Mk 8:34.
The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":78 "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God."79 "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God."80 "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."81
78.
79.
St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 19, 1: PG 7/1, 939.
80.
St. Athanasius, De inc. 54, 3: PG 25, 192B.
81.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57, 1-4.
II. THE INCARNATION ⇡
Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh",82 the Church calls "Incarnation" the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.83
82.
83.
Phil 2:5-8; cf. LH, Saturday, Canticle at Evening Prayer.
The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery: Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."84
84.
Heb 10:5-7, citing Ps 40:6-8 ([7-9] LXX).
Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God."85 Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh."86
85.
86.
| Mark | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Mark 6 |
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| 1. | AND going out from thence, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him. | Et egressus inde, abiit in patriam suam : et sequebantur eum discipuli sui : | και εξηλθεν εκειθεν και ηλθεν εις την πατριδα αυτου και ακολουθουσιν αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου |
| 2. | And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were in admiration at his doctrine, saying: How came this man by all these things? and what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands? | et facto sabbato cœpit in synagoga docere : et multi audientes admirabantur in doctrina ejus, dicentes : Unde huic hæc omnia ? et quæ est sapientia, quæ data est illi, et virtutes tales, quæ per manus ejus efficiuntur ? | και γενομενου σαββατου ηρξατο εν τη συναγωγη διδασκειν και πολλοι ακουοντες εξεπλησσοντο λεγοντες ποθεν τουτω ταυτα και τις η σοφια η δοθεισα αυτω και δυναμεις τοιαυται δια των χειρων αυτου γινονται |
| 3. | Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him. | Nonne hic est faber, filius Mariæ, frater Jacobi, et Joseph, et Judæ, et Simonis ? nonne et sorores ejus hic nobiscum sunt ? Et scandalizabantur in illo. | ουχ ουτος εστιν ο τεκτων ο υιος μαριας αδελφος δε ιακωβου και ιωση και ιουδα και σιμωνος και ουκ εισιν αι αδελφαι αυτου ωδε προς ημας και εσκανδαλιζοντο εν αυτω |
| 4. | And Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred. | Et dicebat illis Jesus : Quia non est propheta sine honore nisi in patria sua, et in domo sua, et in cognatione sua. | ελεγεν δε αυτοις ο ιησους οτι ουκ εστιν προφητης ατιμος ει μη εν τη πατριδι αυτου και εν τοις συγγενεσιν και εν τη οικια αυτου |
| 5. | And he could not do any miracles there, only that he cured a few that were sick, laying his hands upon them. | Et non poterat ibi virtutem ullam facere, nisi paucos infirmos impositis manibus curavit : | και ουκ ηδυνατο εκει ουδεμιαν δυναμιν ποιησαι ει μη ολιγοις αρρωστοις επιθεις τας χειρας εθεραπευσεν |
| 6. | And he wondered because of their unbelief, and he went through the villages round about teaching. | et mirabatur propter incredulitatem eorum, et circuibat castella in circuitu docens. | και εθαυμαζεν δια την απιστιαν αυτων και περιηγεν τας κωμας κυκλω διδασκων |
Patron saint against fires!
Wednesday, February 5
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the Memorial of St. Agatha,
virgin and martyr. Agatha was a
beautiful, young girl desired by a Roman
senator for marriage around 250 A.D.
Wanting to remain pure for Christ, she
refused, and was tortured until she died.
Daily Readings for:February 05, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha implore your compassion for us, O Lord, we pray, for she found favor with you by the courage of her martyrdom and the merit of her chastity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Customs on the Feast of St. Agatha
o Nameday Ideas for St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: February
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: February
PRAYERS
o Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
· Ordinary Time: February 5th
· Memorial of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr
Old Calendar: St. Agatha
St. Agatha died in defense of her purity, in Catania, Sicily, where she was born. After Quintanus, the governor of Sicily, tried in vain to force her to consent to sin, she was imprisoned for a month with an evil woman. He then turned from sensuality to cruelty and had her breasts cut off; but that night Agatha was healed by St. Peter. She was then rolled over sharp stones and burning coals, and finally taken to prison where she died while praying. Her name appears in the Roman Canon.
St. Agatha
It is impossible to write a historically reliable account of St. Agatha's life. The "Acts" of her martyrdom are legendary, dating from the sixth century.
According to these sources Agatha was a Sicilian virgin of noble extraction. Quintianus, governor of Sicily, became deeply enamored of her; but she rejected his advances. As a result she was charged with being a Christian and brought before his tribunal. To the question concerning her origin she replied: "I am noble-born, of a distinguished family, as all my relatives will attest." When asked why she lived the servile life of a Christian, she answered: "I am a handmaid of Christ, and that is why I bear the outward appearance of a slave; yet this is the highest nobility, to be a slave to Christ." The governor threatened her with the most dreadful tortures if she did not renounce Christ. Agatha countered: "If you threaten me with wild beasts, know that at the Name of Christ they grow tame; if you use fire, from heaven angels will drop healing dew on me."
After being tortured, "Agatha went to prison radiant with joy and with head held high as though invited to a festive banquet. And she commended her agony to the Lord in prayer." The next day, as she again stood before the judge, she declared: "If you do not cause my body to be torn to pieces by the hangmen, my soul cannot enter the Lord's paradise with the martyrs. She was then stretched on the rack, burned with red-hot irons, and despoiled of her breasts. During these tortures she prayed: "For love of chastity I am made to hang from a rack. Help me, O Lord my God, as they knife my breasts. Agatha rebuked the governor for his barbarity: "Godless, cruel, infamous tyrant, are you not ashamed to despoil a woman of that by which your own mother nursed you?"
Returning to prison, she prayed: "You have seen, O Lord, my struggle, how I fought in the place of combat; but because I would not obey the commands of rulers, my breasts were lacerated." In the night there appeared to her a venerable old man, the apostle Peter, with healing remedies. Agatha, ever delicately modest, hesitated to show him her wounds. "I am the apostle of Christ; distrust me not, my daughter." To which she replied: "I have never used earthly medicines on my body. I cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, who renews all things by His word." She was miraculously healed by St. Peter: "Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I give you praise because by Your apostle You have restored my breasts." Throughout the night a light illumined the dungeon. When the guards fled in terror, her fellow prisoners urged her to escape but she refused: "Having received help from the Lord, I will persevere in confessing Him who healed me and comforted me."
Four days later she was again led before the judge. He, of course, was amazed over her cure. Nevertheless, he insisted that she worship the gods; which prompted another confession of faith in Christ. Then by order of the governor, Agatha was rolled over pieces of sharp glass and burning coals. At that moment the whole city was rocked by a violent earthquake. Two walls collapsed, burying two of the governor's friends in the debris. Fearing a popular uprising, he ordered Agatha, half dead, to be returned to prison. Here she offered her dying prayer: "Blessed Agatha stood in the midst of the prison and with outstretched arms prayed to the Lord: O Lord Jesus Christ, good Master, I give You thanks that You granted me victory over the executioners' tortures. Grant now that I may happily dwell in Your never-ending glory." Thereupon she died.
A year after her death the city of Catania was in great peril from an eruption on Mount Etna. Pagans, too, were numbered among those who fled in terror to the saint's grave. Her veil was taken and held against the onrushing flames, and suddenly the danger ceased. Her grave is venerated at Catania in Sicily.
—The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Bell-founders; breast cancer; breast disease; Catania, Italy; against fire; earthquakes; eruptions of Mount Etna; fire; fire prevention; jewelers; martyrs; natural disasters; nurses; Palermo, Italy; rape victims; single laywomen; sterility; torture victims; volcanic eruptions; wet-nurses; Zamarramala, Spain.
Symbols: Breasts on a dish; embers; knife; loaves of bread on a dish; pincers; shears; tongs; veil; virgin martyr wearing a veil and bearing her severed breasts on a silver platter.
Things to Do:
Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
Where did this man get all this? … Is he not the carpenter? (Mark 6:2, 3)
Though well-intentioned, the people of Nazareth seemed to have missed the new thing God had for them. Jesus had grown up in their village. They knew his parents and extended family. Surely they knew everything about Jesus already—or so they thought. So they dismissed what he was saying and doing, and in the process, they minimized what he could do in their midst. What a sad loss of an opportunity!
The thing is, though, that we, too, can become comfortable in the all too familiar setting of our parish Mass. We know how things are done, so we are tempted not to pay close attention. We can easily go through the motions of worship without engaging our minds and hearts. When this happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if, like the Nazarenes, we lowered our expectations and ended up experiencing less than all God has in store for us.
If you find yourself in a situation like this—let’s call it what it is: a rut—try something different. The next time you go to Mass, pretend that you have brought a guest with you, someone who has never been to church before. Look around with this person’s fresh eyes. What strikes you?
Maybe you notice again how very few people sit in the front row. Maybe you wonder how your friend will know where to find the hymns. What is pictured in that stained-glass window? Why all the standing and kneeling? Questions like these can help you rediscover some treasures you had overlooked earlier.
An exercise like this can also become an occasion for the Spirit to invite you to a deeper faith. Paying close attention to the liturgy and the environment can help make your participation at Mass more conscious, active, and heartfelt. And that means that your encounter with the Lord at Mass will become more powerful and life-changing.
So put yourself in another person’s shoes. See if it helps energize your appreciation of everything that God is doing at Mass. See, also, if it helps you become more actively engaged in worship. You never know how the Lord will work!
“Jesus, thank you for inviting me to come to your house of prayer week after week. Please open my eyes and my heart as I encounter you there.”
2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17; Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7
Daily Marriage Tip for February 5, 2014:
How do you like to be treated when you are ill? Do you want to be left alone or fussed over? What about your spouse? Don’t assume that what you like is what your beloved would like. Ask.
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Mark 6:1-6 He departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching. Introductory Prayer: O Lord, you said that blest are they who find no stumbling block in you. I want to be a blest person, so that you may find in me no obstacle to the holiness you want for me. I believe in you, but I long for a greater faith to see and respond to the signs of your hand moving in my world. I love you, Lord, and wish to lead my brothers and sisters to you through my testimony, through my being truly convinced that you are the life of men. Petition: Lord, grant me the gift of total surrender to your will for me in all things. 1. “Where did this man get all this? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands.” How beautiful it is to contemplate the humble and meek Christ! He now manifests, to the shock and awe of the worldly-minded, the signs of his true origin and the nature of his true mission. The power of God, the power of the supernatural, now intervenes in what is merely natural through the mere “carpenter’s son.” The “signs of credibility” that Christ enacts through his mighty words and deeds powerfully point to his divine origins and invite his contemporaries to faith. It is an invitation to leave behind them the superficial category of Jesus as just a nice neighbor (which means they can live the same as before) and receive the gift of Christ as Redeemer (which means change and conversion). Are there signs in my life that the Lord is looking to change me, to change my behavior in some way so I might live more by faith and charity? How much longer will I resist before I will am won over by his goodness? 3. “He was not able to perform any mighty deed there.” Our Lord makes himself vulnerable to us, to our willingness to believe. He comes only to make us happy and to elevate our lives to be more beautiful, deeper in meaning and richer in fruits. He wants to bring into our life his power to work miracles and to move mountains of fear and burdens that we encounter. He comes to be ointment for our wounds and consolation for our weary hearts. The only thing he needs to make us happy, then, is our faith, our unconditional and active faith. Without it (since he respects our freedom), we cripple his capacity to act in our life as Savior and Lord. How sad it is to see how easily we refuse such a selfless and beautiful gift. Conversation with Christ: Lord, teach me to receive you with a heart ready to leave my rationalistic way of acting and choosing. Help me to know how to read your invitations with supernatural faith and to follow them in true obedience, where true love proves itself. Resolution: I will be very obedient to the lights I receive today from the Holy Spirit, acting on them with promptness and generosity. |
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