December 2017 - Page 2 of 2 - Shepherd of Faith

Matthew 15:29-37

God’s Word will come to us. This was the topic of the second reading in the Office of Readings today, from a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot.

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.

Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.

In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself says: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.

Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.

If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam’s sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.

As I worked through today’s Gospel (Matthew 15:29-37) during lectio divina, the connection between these two readings became apparent. There is no doubt in my mind that the Gospel of the loaves and fishes serves to remind us of the great miracle worker Jesus is. Today, for me, it also serves to explain and validate the words of St. Bernard. Let me explain.

Christians believe that the Messiah has already come once and eagerly await His second coming. St. Bernard, however, tells us that there are three comings. The third is invisible and it’s happening now! What does that mean? Well, it was explained beautifully in the homily this past weekend. The priest discussed how, and I’m paraphrasing, Jesus is the Word made flesh – He came in the past over 2000 years ago, He will come again in glory sometime in the future, and He comes to us NOW in the present. All we have to do is open our hearts and allow Him to enter. He comes to us now in many ways. The priest explained that one of the ways He comes to us is in the Eucharist. Hence, the Eucharist is food for our journey.

I think we can all agree that Jesus also comes to us in the Scriptures, the word of God. The Scriptures are another very important component of our faith. St. Bernard tells us to keep God’s word in our hearts. Specifically he says: Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Furthermore, I believe it was St. Jerome who said, ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. So, how can we keep God’s word in our hearts? The answer is quite simple: by reading and pondering Scripture and by keeping His commandments. Consequently, our whole way of life will be focused on the Word, capital W!

Part of today’s Gospel reads as follows: Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves,and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

Jesus takes pity on his followers. He wants them to be nourished but how will He do it? He does it by breaking the bread and sharing everything He has with them. Notice the similarity of the words in this Gospel to the words of the Gospel of the Last Supper. There’s our reference to the Eucharist again. He gives them food for their journey – their present journey and the journey that is life. He does the same for us!

The imagery in St. Bernard’s words are absolutely beautiful. He presents the third coming as “a road on which we travel from the first coming to the second.” The third coming is our present journey! As such, we should embrace the journey and not the destination. Jesus comes to us on the journey. Better yet, He is WITH US on the journey. Hallelujah! If we hold on to that image, NOTHING in this life can take us off course and absolutely nothing will make us lose our focus. That’s the beauty of the present moment – don’t move past it!

Also, notice the reference in this Gospel to abundance. When Christ is at the center there is always ENOUGH. He is enough, we are enough and He provides enough! Thanks be to God!

Will you allow Jesus to enter your heart, not only during Advent and Christmas but, always? Let’s commit to nourishing ourselves in preparation for Christ’s third coming and invite God’s Word to come to us. Then the promise of our divinization, through grace, will be fulfilled. God bless you!

Blessed Sacrament

Happy watching and waiting! Today begins the season of Advent, one of my favorites of the liturgical year – perfect for stillness and quietude. Remember to take time during this season to slow down. Take some time to sit before the Blessed Sacrament in the middle of your busy day or give Jesus an hour of your week to sit during Eucharistic Adoration at your parish. Remember how saddened Jesus was when his disciples couldn’t stay awake during his agony in the garden. “Could you not watch one hour with me,” he said. (Mt 26:40) He’s probably saying the same to us.

This Friday was the first Friday of the month and I spent a few hours in adoration at my parish. We are blessed to have all night adoration on the first Friday of every month. So there I sat, with Jesus, for a few hours – sitting, praying, reading and writing. As I sat, just past midnight, I decided to open the missalette to Sunday’s readings and do Lectio Divina.

The first reading for this weekend is from Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7 – it starts off talking about how God is our Father and asking why He let’s us wander. It continues with how sinful we are and how angry He is. “Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter; we are all the work of your hands.”

There’s that reason to HOPE again! No matter how sinful we are, He’s “got” this! Those words from Isaiah stopped me in my tracks. I read them over and over with a smile because it reminded me of how God truly IS in control of everything. Answered prayer, unanswered prayer, suffering, joy – it’s all there to teach us, to mold us into the people he would have us become and to help us recognize His Presence around us. In other words, the good, the bad and the ugly……..there He is in the midst of it all. Wow! What a comfort.

I continued to read the reading for Sunday and finally came to the Gospel, taken from Mark 13:33-37. I guess you could say it was appropriate for the season: Advent waiting and the message: WATCH! “Be watchful, be alert” said Jesus to His disciples. I’ve heard many homilies on this Gospel and the message is usually the same – we don’t know when “our time” will come or when Jesus will come again so we should never lose our focus, we should always be prepared to enter the Kingdom. We should always be working toward an increase in holiness, growing in grace and being ready to meet Him when He comes again.

In the past, my own understanding and interpretation of this Gospel and the many homilies I’ve heard proposed that same message. However, after reading it this week, my interpretation was a bit different. It may have to do with my focus on contemplation these days, but I think it also has to do with the connection I made to the first reading. You see, if God is the potter, we the clay, I think we are being called to watchfulness and awareness of Him. “Be watchful and alert” for His Presence in the here and now and how He is working to purify us.

In other words, I think this Gospel is telling us to be on the look out for God’s action and presence in our lives. To recognize it, surrender to it and to open our hearts to it. Basically, go with the flow of the potter’s wheel and don’t resist. We all know what happens to the clay when it encounters resistance! Surrendering to God’s action and presence in our lives is the only way we will be able to experience true union with Him in this life. The best part of this message is that we don’t have to wait until we die or for Him to come again to experience true union with Him.