OUR CONCEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST


TUESDAY, SIXTEENTH WEEK IN ORDERINARY TIME

Micah 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 85:2-8; Mt 12:46-50

Becoming the brother of Jesus Christ

If, as we said in yesterday’s reflection, God intends us to live in communion with him always, he will surely not hide his divine will from us. Since to live in communion with God is to follow his will in all things, God will not hide his will from us but reveal it for our lives and fullness of communion. The will of God is indeed revealed for our salvation, for the whole creation exists by the will of the Father. Each creature proclaims the divine will in its nature as each is called forth into existence by the living word of God. On this basis, God called on the whole creation to act as witness in the case and indictment of his people, as we read yesterday from the prophet Micah. They are witnesses of God’s will, for they exist by the divine will and proclaim it through their existence and operations to us. Hence, our disobedience and sins are inexcusable, for what is pleasing to God has been revealed to us through his word and creation.

Subsequently, each of us must plead and petition the divine mercy for our salvation. Our conversion begins with recognizing our nothingness and sinfulness before God, our Creator. We must call on him to pardon our sins and turn his merciful countenance upon us, that we may live and not perish. Prophet Micah leads us in the penitential prayer. “With shepherd’s crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture, the flock that is your heritage, living confined in a forest with meadow land all around. Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of Egypt grant us to see wonders.” Thus, the occasion of our sins reveals both the justice of God and his infinite mercy and compassion. As we noted previously, God’s justice is also a revelation of God, for it is always revealed for our salvation. Therefore, Micah refers to it as a revelation of God’s wonders. All that God does is wonderful, for each of his works reveals his infinite glory and majesty. The same applies to his pardoning sins and the salvation of sinners like us. “What god can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy?” None can compare with God, for the signature of his infinite perfection is on everything he does, even in pardoning our faults in our redemption in his Son, Jesus Christ.

God does not just forgive and forget; He forgives and creatively works out our salvation in view of our sins, in such a way that his infinite justice is never sidelined but fully expressed in the forgiveness of our sins. The divine creativity in our salvation also educates our minds and inflames our hearts with divine love. These forestall our falling into the same sin, while establishing the life and mind of the Son within us. The process leads to the birth of Jesus Christ in us and our filiation to him. The Lord confirms this in the Gospel when he identifies those doing the will of his Father as his mother, brother, and sister. “But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’” God created us for this purpose, namely, to conceive and bear Jesus Christ in us. We are made in the image of God and are being transformed into his likeness. All that the Father wills for us is that we may possess the mind of Christ, which is characterised by obedience to the will of the Father. This is salvation simply put; it is the fullness of communion with God. This is the favour God bestowed on us. “O Lord, you once favoured your land and revived the fortunes of Jacob, you forgave the guilt of your people and covered all their sins.”

Let us pray: Show favour, O Lord, to your servants and mercifully increase the gifts of your grace, that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity, they may be ever watchful in keeping your commands. 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.     

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