15th Saturday in Ordinary Time
Micah 2: 1 – 5; Ps 10; Matthew 12: 14 – 21
Today’s Gospel gives us an important insight into the early church’s desire to know more, appreciate more, believe more and especially, to love more the Lord Jesus Christ. They took to heart the words of Jesus to Cleophas and his companion on the road to Emmaus.
Recall Jesus response to their abject dejection – St. Luke recounts, “Beginning, then, with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted for them every passage of Scripture which referred to Him.” (Luke 24: 27) With Jesus’ example and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the first Christians searched the Sacred Scriptures and in so doing they were guided to understand more the mystery, the identity of the One they named Lord, Master, Teacher.
The Pharisees who had taken counsel against Jesus to put Him to death saw their plan carried out. The believers saw that horrendous death and came to know that torture and death could not hold Him – He revealed Himself as the Conqueror of sin and death – He rose from the dead, He trampled death by death.
St. Matthew, the other Evangelists, the disciples, the believers all focused their minds, centered their hearts into the Word of God – the living Word and the inspired words of Isaiah became light, truth, wisdom for them, for us, for all time. With divine affection the Father spoke of the Son through Isaiah: “Behold, My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom I delight…A bruised reed He shall not break…until He brings justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
They knew these words; they had heard them often but now, they took on a meaning that surpassed anything they had known before. This was the Christ, the Son of God, the Risen One, the Lord Jesus whom many had encountered personally.
In our own reading and reflecting on God’s word, like St. Matthew and others, we desire to know more of the Lord – His person, His mystery, His identity, His message so that the Sacred Word forms us in faith, hope and love, that it penetrates and touches us deeply so we are truly His.
Scripture tells us that His Word is Life – let us seek this Life with desire.
Comments are closed.