Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Of all the reasons people can be attracted to Jesus, I think spectacle is one of the funnier ones. ‘Who is this person that everyone is talking about? I’d like to see him myself,’ Herod says to himself. No matter what drives a person to get there, the desire to see Jesus is blessed and holy. Our Lord, the Son of God, is unique in the universe and among all other names for divinity. No one else married Heaven and Earth, Humanity and Godliness. No one else was so full of love, compassion, wisdom, and mercy. No one else worked great miracles. No one else endured such great suffering so gracefully. No one else loves you so perfectly, so completely. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Do you remember what it was like to see the Lord for the first time? Or, do you remember a time when your relationship with Jesus was blossoming and growing deeper? Are you in that moment now? It’s a blessed, holy time. For many, as years pass all our relationships loose their newness. The emotional excitement of seeing Jesus and all the others we love can fade. But hopefully the desire is still there. When a close friend or spouse is travelling, we miss them. When we forget to pray, we miss Jesus; we still yearn, perhaps more quietly, to see Him.
The people in today’s first reading have passed that stage. Their place of encounter with God, the temple, was destroyed several generations ago. The people are used to not seeing God. They don’t even have Herod’s curiosity. What’s the answer when we get used to not seeing God in our day-to-day lives? The prophet reminds them and us. ‘Consider your ways; something is missing. You’re not satisfied, even though you think you’re doing everything right. You are doing good work without inviting God, and so God’s blessing isn’t bringing you fulfillment.’
That feeling that something is missing is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need to be converted. We need to seek God in new ways, to open our hearts and allow our full being to be transformed. Are you in this place? What about your friends and family? Let us encourage one another: ‘consider your ways.’ Then, let us try to see Jesus and His ways. Everything becomes clear in the light of Christ.
-Chris Nieport