Catholic Meditations Meditation: Matthew 21:23-27 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org Subscriber? Login to view archives. 3rd Week of Advent By what authority are you doing these things? (Matthew 21:23) Dancers glide and spin with a grace and agility that dazzle those of us who struggle to touch our toes. We know they have found some new way of moving, but we have a hard time following their example. The same can be said about how God thinks. When Jesus came demonstrating a new vision about God, many people struggled. Steeped in their beloved traditions, they questioned Jesus’ authority to speak so openly and freely. But the real problem was that they were too rigid in their ideas, and they couldn’t handle the new things he was saying and doing. Because these people favored their time-honored interpretations over everything else, they lost sight of how kind and flexible, generous and compassionate God is. So they saw Jesus as an enemy rather than a friend. They saw his words as a threat to the status quo rather than an invitation to a new and deeper experience of God. We too can struggle to accept God’s thoughts, especially when it means setting aside our own preconceptions. Think, for instance, of the renewal of the Church that St. John XXIII inaugurated with the Second Vatican Council. When the Council opened fifty years ago, few areas of ministry were open to lay Catholics. Since that time, however, laypeople have been able to take up so much of the Lord’s work that it’s practically miraculous! But there have always been a small group of people who view these new openings with a mixture of fear and worry. God is always inviting us into a newer, deeper, more liberating relationship with him. Jesus came into this world to make this kind of relationship possible for you. You have only to be willing to set aside your well-worn thoughts and ways for his new paths. You have only to prefer his ways, even when they seem unfamiliar or new. Don’t resist. Don’t be surprised if God does something unexpected. Always remember: he is a creative, surprising, untamed God. He has every right to shake us up at times—all for the sake of bringing us closer to him! “Father, your thoughts and ways are greater, kinder, and more creative than mine. I accept your invitation to a new understanding of your love and plan.” Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17 Psalm 25:4-9
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 15:15:10 +0000
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