Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading from Mark presents a sort of dramatic, if realistic, picture of the attention that Jesus drew as he went about his daily business of preaching, healing, and serving with love the people he had come to save. As we meditate on this passage, we might ask ourselves a simple question, namely, “Have I been seeking Jesus with the spirit and fervor of these people?” It is easy, at times, to lose sight of Jesus, and to think that he’s just kind of there with us in the background. But while God certainly never abandons us, we cannot use this as an excuse NOT to seek him. For just as God continues to pursue us in thousands of hidden ways, we are called to pursue Jesus, to live with him as brother, our friend, our high priest, and our savior.
Our first reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews tells us that “Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them,” (Heb 7:25). This is a gift that we must accept if we want to receive the fullness of the faith as part of a “better covenant,” as Paul says to us today (Heb 8:6). While the Bible is a story of God’s covenants with his people, and his fidelity to his promises despite their weaknesses, Jesus has become a mediator of the final covenant and a better covenant. As we go about our lives during this season of Ordinary Time, we are counting our weeks of walking with our Lord. Now is the time to keep him firmly in our view, to continue to pursue him, to seek him with the hunger of those people described in the gospel passage. Our salvation is offered to us in this person of Jesus who fulfilled the final covenant. If we approach God through Him he will always make intercession for us, a mediator and priest who is also our friend and brother. Today, take some time to think about how you might better and more actively seek Jesus in your life, perhaps through quiet time with prayer or in greater patience in your interactions with others. How might you grow closer to Christ in every minute of your life? Maria Morrow