Fr Dino VaninAt the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. We should not have any trouble believing that Jesus is crying inside; that his heart is wrenched at the sight of the dire condition in which our country finds itself.
What troubles him the most?
- That the name of his Father cannot be mentioned in public schools?
- That while in the womb some babies are desired, loved and welcome into the world while others are destroyed as unwanted tissue and incinerated?
- That some people reject the body which God knit so marvelously in their mother’s womb?
- That anything to do with Christianity or Holy Scripture is enough to get some people unhinged?
- That the elderly and the critically ill are being convinced that they are a useless burden to society?
- That some young people choose death because they cannot see the beauty of life?
- That our common sense is challenged by wokeness’ crazy flight from reality?
- Or it might be because, in the name of progress, freedom, emancipation, equality, enlightenment, we are encouraged to shed family values and to forsake our Creator, Lawgiver and Savior?
We do not have to answer these questions. We should rather rejoice because Jesus’ compassion is not powerless and ineffective like ours. His is the compassion of one who has conquered all evils and death itself. It is the power that made this world from nothing; it is the power that makes all things new. It is the power that can soften the hardest hearts and enables them to set fear aside to share, to care, to sacrifice everything out of love.
This is what Jesus has been doing from the very first moment he looked at us. Today as back then, he picks ordinary people and turns them into his disciples fired up by the irresistible beauty of the Gospel. Back then, he picked overconfident as well as timid, serious and simple-minded, adventurous and introverted, generous and stingy, trustful and calculating people. His compassion and his power changed them all—but one: Judas Iscariot.
His success record can be just as high nowadays. To convince us to become the objects of his care, of his compassion, of his transforming power, of his love, we should read again the first reading given us on this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time: You shall be my special possession! (Exodus 19:5) Those comforting words spoken to Moses could have sounded vague, then. But spoken to us, they are the truest words. We have just to look at the Crucifix to realize their shocking truth!
So, in the convincing sight of our crucified and risen Lord, we shall let him be moved with pity at our struggles, at our troubles, at our fruitless efforts. We know our weaknesses and what we have been doing to relieve our anxieties. It is now due time to realize that the Lord was aware of our sad condition before we attempted to find rest elsewhere…
If we let him take over our life, if we let him convince us that his love and power are infinite, if we surrender to him, we will not need drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, pornography, overeating, any other disorder like going on a reckless spending binge, or any other crutch we rely on to get by.
In him we can be slowly free then to turn our gaze from being directed at ourselves to being focused on others. Even as he works in our hearts to soothe them, to heal them, to motivate them, he can inspire us to trust, to reach out, to get involved. It can be as simple as our earnest prayer that the Father may send more laborers to pick the abundant harvest. It can then become more daring like our direct involvement in living out the Gospel with conviction and bringing Christ’s message to others.
What we say, how we react to events, how we handle adversities, the values we seek, the things we buy or refuse to buy, the circle of our caring, what we do with our free time, all this and more spell out to others the wonders that Christ is working in our hearts. And that would be our best contribution to prove that we are truly the Lord’s special possession, dearer to him than all other people.
