The
Prophet Jeremiah has in his own life the experience of being denounced and stalked by his own
friends: “all those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine; perhaps he will be trapped; then we
can prevail, and take our vengeance on him!” This is a sure prophecy of
what would happen to Jesus at a later time: in the gospel passage today we see
the Jews trying to trip Jesus up because they fail to understand his unique and
real relationship with his heavenly Father: the one sent by him into the world
to reconcile us, the one who has the right to be called true Son of God
(because that is exactly what he is). Jesus tells them then if they do not
believe what he says about himself as Son of God – they should at least believe
that he is unique and from God because of
the quality of the works that he does: his spiritually revolutionary preaching, and his miracles that have no other explanation than originating in God
himself.
But these prejudiced and stiff-necked people reject any claim that Jesus
makes on being in a special relationship with the very God of their fathers:
and they try to arrest him – but as
it was not yet his exact hour to finally be handed over, he escaped from their power and went back across the Jordan to the
place where John first baptized, and there he remained. There many came to
believe in him for they realized that everything John said about this man was
true.
We have a unique and special
invitation to listen to Jesus speak at this Mass and to witness his greatest
sign of all: the changing of bread and wine by the priest into his Real and
True Body and Blood as supernatural nourishment for our spiritual lives for
which we are responsible for growth and maturity! May we appreciate what
happens here to the maximum – for it is astounding as it is breathtaking!
We
love you, O Lord, our strength, O Lord, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer.
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