ACCOMODATING THE SON OF MAN

SAINT JEROME, PRIEST, DOCTOR

Job 9:1-13,14-16; Ps 88:10-15; Lk 9:57-62

No Accommodation for the Son of Man

The Word of God is with God from the beginning and is God. He bears and expresses the Father's will in all things and sustains all things by divine power. He remains in all that he made through their different natures, but distinct from all his creatures because of his infinite power and perfections. We always understand the material creation as expressions of the divine will and attributes proportionate to us, mortal men. Hence, the whole of creation is a divine school for our education in divine knowledge. The limited nature of the divine attributes in creatures continuously draws and guides our minds and hearts to the invisible, infinite divine qualities that are spiritually discerned. We can climb these visible staircases of creatures to invisible divine attributes by our spiritual nature. But the advent of sin incapacitated our nature in this most essential task; it caused us to lose our spiritual life and the glory of God. Corrupted, we are unable to climb the staircase of visible creation to the invisible and infinite attributes of God. This made the Incarnation of the Son of Man necessary.

The visible qualities of creation helped Job understand God’s infinite perfections. He expressed these in the first reading. “He moves the mountains, though they do not know it; he throws them down when he is angry. He shakes the earth, and moves it from its place, making all its pillars tremble. The sun, at his command, forbears to rise, and on the stars, he sets a seal. He and no other stretched out the skies, and trampled the Sea’s tall waves. The Bear, Orion too, are of his making, the Pleiades and the Mansions of the South. His works are great, beyond all reckoning, his marvels, past all counting.” These visible sketches of God’s greatness guide us to ponder infinite perfections of God, such as reason, justice, mercy, and love. Job understood this, for he expresses this truth. “Indeed, I know it is as you say: how can man be in the right against God? If any were so rash as to challenge him for reasons, one in a thousand would be more than they could answer. His heart is wise, and his strength is great: who then can successfully defy him?” Subtle, indeed, must be the temptations of the devil to make us doubt the power of the Most High God, and to question the goodness and holiness of his immutable will.

Subsequently, the psalmist teaches us to wait and worship God’s eternal will in humble obedience and submission. “I call to you, Lord, all the day long; to you I stretch out my hands. Will you work your wonders for the dead? Will the shades stand and praise you?” Our coming to faith means putting God first in all things. Our faith in his word makes us wait in joyful expectation before him at all times, even when we are not in the Church. We use every moment of our day to wait on him, like the angels, and to carry out his divine will when it is revealed to us. As Jesus revealed in the Gospel, this is the only way to open our doors to the Eternal Word whenever he comes to us. “As Jesus and disciples travelled along, they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’” Therefore, if we are to follow him, we must rest in nothing. “Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’” God must be first in our lives, or we will live in sin, which is disobedience to divine will.

Saint Jerome teaches that we know God’s will by knowing Jesus Christ, whom we encounter mainly in the Scriptures. He was born in Strido, Dalmatia, in 340. He studied in Rome and was baptised there. He took to an ascetic life and travelled to the East, where he was ordained a priest against his will. Pope Damasus recalled him to Rome to serve as his secretary. He went back to Bethlehem at the pope’s death, where he established a monastery, a hospice, and a school, with the help of St. Paula and others. He translated the Bible into Latin, which was the most important work of his life. This translation is still extant today. He wrote many works, commentaries, and letters on Holy Scripture. He was of great help to the Church in the troubled times of the barbarian invasions and internal dissension. He helped those in need and the refugees. He died at Bethlehem in 420 AD.

Let us pray: O God, who gave the Priest Saint Jerome a living and tender love for Sacred Scripture, grant that your people may be ever more fruitfully nourished by your Word and find in it the fount of life. 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.