Wednesday of Week 15 in Ordinary Time (Year II)
Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16 | Psalm 93:5-10,14-15 | Matthew 11:25-27
I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. (Matthew 11:25)
To be sure, it’s not that Jesus deliberately worked miracles only when the Pharisees and other learned folks weren’t around to witness them. Often enough, they saw with everyone else what Jesus hath wrought, but choose to find some explanation other than God:
As they were going out, a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” (Matthew 9:32-34)
We too can be suddenly blind to things we’d rather not see:
We ooh and ahh at the magnificent cathedrals during our travels, but studiously avoid making eye contact with the pitiful beggars at the entrances.
We gawk at the glitz of Muslim weddings at our void decks, but avert our eyes at the sobriety of wakes of any kind.
We rush to pass through and touch Holy Doors, but rush past the family Bible on the way to the family TV.
Oh, to be like children again, to behold the face of Christ in all that we avoid seeing…
the hungry,
the sorrowful,
the Word that is Truth and Life
…and to reach out with loving arms and a heart emptied of everything but the desire to know God through these things.
Open our eyes, Lord
Help us to see your face
Open our eyes, Lord
Help us to see
Amen.