Imagine, if you will, an immense painting of a red-rimmed circle – this is a very immense circle, so much so that you can barely see the circumference of it – if at all. The fill-color of the circle is white and in the middle of the circle there is a tiny black dot!
This image can be useful in understanding today's readings from scripture. But there are so many different interpretations that can be applied to it. Some of the questions it could answer are these: "What do we consider to be the 'center' of our life?" What is that holds our deepest interest, our heartfelt craving, our chief focus of attention? What is it? Or who is it? And why is it what or who it is?
The answer could be any number of things, or any number of persons – the answer could be shallow and trite, or essentially deep and well-thought out!
No matter how we view the painting, however, it will all come down to two choices: is the focal point YOU, or is it GOD?
There is another way of looking at the painting as well! If we consider the white area surrounding the dot we can see it basically in one of two ways: it is either the enormity of our own self-interest, gratification and glorification, which has smothered God out and reduced him to an almost invisible shadow somewhere in the surface of our lives; or we can look at the white part as God – as the enormity of God's love, care, compassion, providence, mercy and forgiveness that he o so gently and sweetly caresses us with - the o so fragile and priceless image in the middle of his life.
The readings today tell us that GOD IS GOD! He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-caring…and he absolutely loves to take care of what he has created: especially mankind with whom he can interact in a personal way! That is why he made us persons! The only catch is that mankind must keep right-sized and in proper relation with God. It must accept its humble position in the painting that was crafted by a master artist! It must let itself be taken care of by God.
In order for God to truly be God in our lives we must confess that we truly need him! For the fact is that of ourselves we are nothing! We are here at all because he FIRST loved us and made us – every one of us - and now sustains and nurtures us! And so, looking carefully at ourselves and enumerating our poverty (of various kinds), our weaknesses, our lowly standing in the overall scheme of things – when we place these before God and offer them to him – as we do at this and every Mass – then he receives the offering and transforms us into active agents of his love for our brothers and sisters. God loves others through us. And he loves us through them. If there is no interchange of persons…there is no exchange of love – love is not felt – and needless loneliness, depression and despair exist in the world.
God purposely, as we see in the first reading today, made the people of Israel a remnant – a small, poor, humble shadow of their former selves – as he readied them to receive what could exalt them in their lowliness: the Messiah, the spiritual King who would come to meet all their needs. He would be the Great Giver; they would be the grateful receivers.
St. Paul reaffirms God's choice of such unlikely candidates to receive his blessings: the foolish of the world, the weak, the lowly, the count-for-nothings. This is all so that GOD COULD BE ALL, so that God could be greatest! For the simple fact is: HE IS! HE IS ALL! HE IS GREATEST! So, then who ever boasts, should boast in the Lord working though him. We do nothing good in deed or thought without him and his Spirit working through us!
Jesus, the Messiah, when at last he came, spells it out very plainly for us all: the poor in spirit – the persecuted for righteousness sake – will inherit the Kingdom – because God will be accomplishing in them what they themselves cannot do for themselves.
The red-rimmed trim of the painting of the circle we mentioned earlier is the Blood of Christ – it is the Love of God that surrounds the entire world – everything and everyone in it! What is amazing about this painting is that what we decide, how we view it, what changes we make in our lives because of it, really counts.
This is interactive artwork at its finest!
Is the dot in the middle us or God; is the white space around the dot us or God; is the red-rim trim around the circle God's Love for us and our brothers and sisters or our own stubborn selfish loved for ourselves?
The choice is ours about the true meaning of our painting as we view it, and about how the story concerning our painting will turn out for us when all the paintings in the world are collected - in the Great Gallery of Heaven - for judging - on the Last Day!
Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
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