THE GRADUAL REVELATION OF THE SON


FRIDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINATRY TIME  

Wis 13:1-9; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 17:26-37

The Day of Revelation of the Son of Man

God is always present to us as the ground or foundation of existence, but in a way that is incomprehensible to the human mind. But by creating the universe of material things, God organised or provided a framework within which we can easily relate to the divine reality. Since God is existence, he cannot remove himself from anything or anywhere that exists. It is one thing to be, and another thing entirely to be visible to creatures. In other words, God is with us always, which makes it possible for us to exist. But the way he is in us as our ground of existence is not the sense in which we are to be his temple. In the former, he is in us without us, while he intends to be in us with us in the latter. To be his temple and dwelling place, we need to know him and love him as our God and all. Thus, God created the earth as a suitable environment for humans to know Him, love Him, and serve Him temporally and faithfully, to enter into eternal communion with God. The wisdom presented as a feminine personage represents this suitable presentation of God to us in creation. She is made for man and dwells always with man while never leaving the presence of God as a pure emanation from God to reside with us and teach us about God. As a spirit, it is everywhere and in everything in the material creation. But her delight is to dwell in us and give birth to our spirit, which she nurtures on the word of God.

The fall of Adam and Eve made it extremely difficult for us to discover and relate to the wisdom that is ever-present. Infinite mercy of God came to our rescue by sending His Only Begotten Son to appear in our nature to bring the presence and knowledge of God nearer to us. The book of Wisdom expresses the extreme foolishness of those who fail to notice the presence of God in the material universe, which is suited to our natural perception. “Naturally stupid are all men who have not known God and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is, or, by studying the works, have failed to recognise the Artificer.” The author concludes that what makes the foolishness of unbelievers even more remarkable is the fact that they are able to perceive the strength or beauty of creatures, which they worship as gods. This shows they perceive the path leading to the Creator, but stubbornly refuse to travel that path to encounter the Creator of all things. They are victims of sensible appearances and beauty, hindered by their attachment to the senses and sensible pleasures from comprehending the spiritual or immaterial beauty and strength. “Even so, they are not to be excused: if they are capable of acquiring enough knowledge to be able to investigate the world, how have they been so slow to find its Master?” Knowledge and ordering of things in the world is a path to the presence of God that is with us. What is required is the assent of faith, without which it is impossible to know God.

The psalm testifies to the glory of God evident in the material world, showcased by the regularity and ordering of events. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story ad night unto night makes known the message.” If we fail to discover, believe, and confess the presence of God in these regular or daily events, then we would surely miss his appearance on the day of his revelation. “As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” God is present in our eating and drinking, in our marriages, classes, offices, and houses, etc., which the faithful acknowledge and profess in their lives and relationships with others in all these areas of daily events and activities. We either generate a flood of faith, hope, and love through these daily engagements that gradually drown the sinful self and make us awake in God, or we generate a flood of selfishness, sinfulness, and evil desires that gradually drowns us in the darkness of unbelief and stupidity. “Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.”

Let us pray: Almighty and merciful God, graciously keep from us all adversity, so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BECOMING A DEPENDABLE FRIEND

Image
FRIDAY, SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Eccl 6:5-17; Ps 119:12,16,18,27,34-35; Mk 10:1-12 Making and being a Good Friend The usefulness of a faithful friend is the subject discussed in the passage of Sirach we are considering. From the qualities that make a good friend, we understand that faithfulness depends on the perfection we attain in the formative school of wisdom. The first lesson we learn in nature is faithfulness. The quality of faithfulness is so closely aligned with nature that we consider nature and faithfulness synonyms. The faithfulness of nature, and subsequently of wisdom, is hinted at when we read that wisdom stands at her post/gate daily to beckon the passers-by to turn in and partake of her table. Everything that God made participates in this faithfulness of wisdom in the sense that each remains faithful to his will without failing or leading our minds astray. First, Sirach admonishes us on friendliness to people in general: “A kindly turn of speech multiplies a ...
Read more

WE CANNOT ENTER INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT FAITH

Image
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP  Isa 7:1-9; Ps 48:2-8; Mt 11:20-24 If you do not stand by Me, you will not stand at all The Lord Jesus Christ takes up the issue of rejecting or ignoring the Gospel message when it comes to us in the gospel reading today. The word of God contains all the blessings of heaven which God had given us in Christ before the beginning of the world. Hence, a rejection or refusal to accept or listen to the Gospel message is a rejection of all the heavenly blessings we have received in Jesus Christ. These divine blessings have import for our lives here on earth. While still dwelling here on earth, those who believe in the word of God already possess the heavenly inheritance God will fully manifest to us when we exit this mortal tent. By faith, we enter into the eternal kingdom and the promised inheritance. The importance of faith for our reception of the heavenly blessings here on earth is illustrated in the first reading...
Read more

The offsprings of the Old man and the New Man

Image
Monday, fifth week of lent/2024 Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Offsprings of Old man and New Man To be able to live the new life within the new Covenant in Jesus Christ, the old life must come to an end. The distinctive difference between the old man and the new man is the focus of desires. The old man and all who live by him have their desires focussed on the satisfaction of self. On the other hand, the new man and those living by him desires only to fulfil God's holy will. Thus, the old man and his offspring obey the law of sin and death. Living for self alone breeds sins, and sin causes death. So, the old man and all living by him are dead and harbingers of death to others. They are adept at manipulating the Law of God to perpetuate their interest and selfish desires. An example of this skill is the treatment the two old judges of Israel in Babylon meted out to Susanna, wife of Joachim, employing the Law of Moses as given in the first reading. “Two elderly men had ...
Read more