Reflection for Wednesday, January 10, 2001: 1st week in Ordinary Time.
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Fortina, Deb
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2001-01-10
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Essay
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en_US
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Redemption brought by Christ, not by angels " ... Surely he did not help angels, but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers (and sisters) in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested."|Hebrews 2:14-18||The wonderful history of Israel "Give thanks to the Lord, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds!..."|Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9 |Cure of Simon's mother-in-law and other healings " ... 'Everyone is looking for you.' He told them, 'Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.' ... " |Mark 1:29-39|Maybe it was due to the graces bestowed during the Jubilee year; or maybe it was due to my entering Fr. Larry Gillick's Ye Ole Advent store early in December, but for some reason I found myself in more reflection this past Advent into Christmas season. I thought a lot about God becoming Man, and so Christmas became a Wow event for me. God is so good.|As I read the readings for today, where we've now entered the Ordinary times of the Church cycle, I found myself wondering just how these times had gotten their name. I wondered, what is ORDINARY about the time after which God becomes Man, and was and still is dwelling with us? I began trying to understand the word ordinary as I looked at today's readings. In Mark the readings tell of the droves of people who were pursuing Jesus to experience His healing touch. The gospel tells us He rose before dawn to pray, because He had little time to Himself. All the surrounding villages were hearing about His healing work. As I read about Jesus expelling demons, I prayed that He would expel the demons plaguing us today, the culture of death came to mind. Surely as Jesus made Himself available to the people in that day, He would do the same for us, if we but asked ... if we have Faith the size of a mustard seed? Many of us have heard of miracles occurring in our own day, prayers being answered, instances of people being cured of cancer, etc., even when it didn't seem humanly possible. Oh please Lord, destroy our demons, and rid us of the culture of death.|Some of the other Advent/Christmas reflection questions I had were addressed in the first reading in Hebrews. I had been thinking about how God had chosen to enter the world and take on His human form. It didn't seem like Jesus had to go through being born to dwell here. Nor did He have to spend thirty years growing up. He could have just appeared, spent three years teaching and then disappeared again. For some reason, God's Plan included Jesus living through the other thirty years, along with Him experiencing a gruesome death. We weren't told much about those other thirty years, only a few events were recorded. Besides His very humble human birth and His presentation in the temple, we also have recorded the time when Jesus stayed back to teach in the temple as a young teen. We learned that Mary and Joseph were worried because they thought they had lost Him, very real life occurrences. I still wondered, why did Jesus come as an infant and go through all of the developmental stages of being human? Why did he have to suffer in leaving the world?|All four of the lines in Hebrews 2:14-18 were revealing in answering these questions. Jesus became human and was "tested" through His suffering. He personally experienced all things, from birth to death and is therefore "able to help those who are being tested." (Hebrews 2:18) Jesus did not come to earth for the angels; He came for us and therefore He became Human. " ... that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17) " ... that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil ... " (Hebrews 2:14). No matter what stage of life we are in, from our infancy to our death and passing, Christ who became Man can relate to our experience today. He experienced human frailty, confusion, pain, and even temptation. He did not come to earth to merely drop in for a short three years and go, but rather He lived through all stages of life, so that young and old could call upon Him for help.|So let us call upon the Spirit to change our hearts today, as we begin again to read in the Ordinary times. Lord help us to see you in our day-to-day encounters with each other; for now we see that our ordinary days are not all that ordinary after all. Christ with us - today, tomorrow, forever.
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University Ministry, Creighton University.
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These reflections may not be sold or used commercially without permission. Personal or parish use is permitted.
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Lectionary number: 307