3rd Saturday of Easter Time
St. Athanasius
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. It really takes a lifetime of faith to even begin to glimpse a little of what is meant here.
There is such a hiddenness about the Word of God. Scoffers will find what they hope to discover – that it is full of old wives tales. The door will not open because they do not knock. They can drink there to their heart’s delight and be fully vindicated and fully confirmed in their illusions and delusions.
The Word does not impose itself on you. And this conforms to the way in which the Lord appeared in the world. St Athanasius reminds us “The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according as they could bear it, not vitiating the value of the Divine appearing by exceeding their capacity to receive it.”
We can only approach the person of Christ in a humble spirit and in this personal encounter, the door is opened and the mysteries impress themselves on our soul. As St Athanasius says again ‘ for indeed, everything about is marvelous, and wherever a man turns his gaze, he sees the Godhead of the Word and is smitten with awe’ But for this to happen, we must begin to clean up our lives which are given over to the passions. We cannot approach what is holy with a worldly spirit. We must have the simplicity of a Peter – Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.
Comments are closed.