OLDER LECTIO DIVINA

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert

Depend on the Lord. He will provide. When God led the Israelites out into the desert, they complained about the lack of water and food. God drove them out to the desert so that they could learn how to depend on him. He thus provided them with sweet water and manna. Jesus begins his ministry with a similar exodus. Like John the Baptist, he brings nothing with him but the clothes he wears. His dependence on God is absolute. Jesus would later call his disciples to a similar kind of abandonment and dependence when he tells them to go forth and preach the kingdom of God and heal: “And he said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics’” (Luke 9:2-3). What is it that drives us to do ridiculous things like this: when we are so filled with passion and zeal for something, we are willing to do anything to make it realized by others so our lives could testify to the truth that has changed our lives? Missionaries abandon everything they know to evangelize in a foreign land. Priests and other religious enter orders or seminaries, leaving behind all the comforts of their past life. What is it that drives these people? Often it is not a question of what, but who. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the desert for 40 days. As we begin Lent, meditate on the reckless abandonment Christ exemplifies here, and what he is calling us to, a calling that is in direct contrast to the comforts popular culture expects us to obtain and hold onto. 

 “I do will it. Be made clean.”

The simple exchange between the leper and Jesus points to a profound truth. The leper knows that Jesus is not a genie. Despite the leper’s obvious need, he still knows that being healed is up to God, not him. We should take this wisdom to heart when considering our own suffering. After all, Jesus said the same thing to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemene at the beginning of his Passion, saying, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). So many times we think God has to cure us of suffering if he is good. The perpetual criticism of God from atheists is “How can an all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent God allow suffering?” We can spend our entire lives unpacking the simple answer: Because he is God and we are not. If God is not our barometer for what is good, then what is? Our own judgment? We ought to be humble enough to admit that God knows better, and even our sense of goodness is flawed. We see things in bits and pieces, often putting our own perspective before any other; but God sees everything at once and completely with the perfect understanding of it all. So if Jesus says, “Be made clean” to the leper, then there must have been some divine purpose to the miracle. 

“he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.”

There is a time and place for everything, we read in Ecclesiastes, “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). Jesus knew that the moment his identity became known, the plotting and scheming to have him killed would begin. Here he is not simply trying to avoid his death, but delaying it so he may complete his earthly ministry as the Father willed for it to be completed, by proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand, calling people to repentance, healing the sick, casting out demons, and--most importantly--preaching the good news. Some Bible critics argue that Jesus never claims to be God. There are many adequate answers that can quell that suspicion, but take into consideration how Jesus had to keep his identity hidden to avoid being sentenced to death before his time had come. Many truths fall into place much better when we read the Gospel story and the Bible as a whole, rather than taking them piece by piece.

“A new teaching with authority.”

Throughout his ministry, Jesus asserts his authority which is given to him by his father in heaven. He says to his disciples, “As the father sends me, so I send you.” Whenever we say “In the name of the Father …” and make the Sign of the Cross, we are also invoking that authority. It’s no small matter, and that’s why using the Lord’s name in vain is a sin. The power that comes with God’s name is not to be used lightly. Even when we are simply praying grace before meals, it’s important to truly center ourselves and bring to mind the power of the one we are thanking. Christ said to his apostles, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19). Do we acknowledge the power of such authority when we call upon his name and spread the gospel ourselves? 

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Why does Jesus use such strange phraseology here? We can explain the use of the word “men” in simple terms, acknowledging that that’s simply how Scripture refers to all people in generic terms. But “fishers of men”? So the disciples are supposed to snatch people out of their natural habitat and have them for supper? The analogy just doesn’t sit right at first, especially when we consider that early Christians were considered by Romans to be cannibals because they ate and drank the body and blood of Christ. In fact, even the ancient ixthus, the image of a fish that symbolizes Christ, seems to carry on this notion. Perhaps we should just avoid Christ’s word choices here, and look for a more clever way to allude to the evangelization to which disciples are called. Or perhaps not. No word is wasted in Scripture. No word is out of place. Christ calls us to himself. He wants us to become one body. He wants to abide in us, and for us to abide in him. He gave us physical bodies to better understand the spiritual reality. The one who eats his Flesh and drinks his Blood becomes what he consumes, becomes Christ. In the Christian life, we are called to die to ourselves and become part of Christ’s body. Jesus caught Simon, Andrew, James, and John and brought them into his body, the Church. Many people do fight being lured in by God’s fishermen, his disciples, just as a fish would fight on a hook and line. Being drawn in by God means letting go of our old life and making our lives about something other than ourselves. It requires being consumed by love. We see throughout nature how something has to die in order to become something greater. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a seed, Christ says. Christ calls us to complete conversion so he can offer us a much fuller life. This conversion requires repentance, an abandonment of our old selves and acceptance of a new life in Christ. In our culture, we are conditioned to interpret things in tangible and physical terms. Don’t shy away from this ‘fishers of men” analogy, but look at it in spiritual terms, which is the way Christ means for us to see it. 

“Behold, the Lamb of God.”

In the gospel passages from the prior few weeks, we read about John the Baptist’s preaching regarding the coming of the Messiah. In today’s passage we are shown that his preaching was not in vain. He was right. Not only was he right about the Messiah’s arrival being near. He also stayed true to his word that he would step aside and direct people to the Messiah when he does come. Just as John the Baptist was a forerunner for Christ, he also paves the way for every true disciple, not just the ones we read about this week. “Behold, the Lamb of God” should be our mindset and testimony whenever we go to Mass, to remind ourselves and others that our focus should be on him, not each other. “Behold, the Lamb of God” ought to be our message whenever we tell people about Jesus. This carpenter from Nazareth is God’s offer of salvation. He is the one promised since the fall of man. 

One mightier than I is coming after me

We live, as Christians, in a constant state of hope. We look to the wrong things to sustain that hope sometimes, but we hope for things to happen, often beyond our understanding, nonetheless. Many speak of the Second Coming of Christ as the way in which God will administer justice to the world. We cannot know the ways of God, but knowing that all power in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus is a helpful piece of wisdom to keep in mind. John the Baptist was constantly deferring to Jesus, pointing to Christ, not himself, as the ultimate source of mercy. If only more leaders did the same. If we are ever put in a position of influence, it should serve us well to remember that we have no power except that which God has given to us. If God has given it to us, he has entrusted it to us; he has trusted us to use that power to draw people closer to him. Also, if he has given it to us, he can take it away. John the Baptist not only knew this. He looked forward to stepping aside and making way for Christ. Jesus entering his life to be baptized was a sign that his task was complete and that he did it well. Let that be a testimony and example for any leadership roles we play in life: that we may lead people to Christ and then step aside.

he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit

St. Maximilian Kolbe said the Holy Spirit is the conception that springs forth from the love between the Father and the Son. This is the missing element in so many of our spiritual lives: love. When people came to see John and asked “Who are you” it’s as if they were asking, “What are we missing?” and John’s answer was “love”. It is the same message Jesus has when he says love is the fulfillment of the law, and when St. Paul says, “if I have not love, I am nothing,” and when John the Apostle writes, “God is love”. 

the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was

Those who seek shall find. That is especially true for those who seek Jesus. He is the truth, and those who choose to pursue and dwell in the truth will not be disappointed. They will draw from a well so deep that no amount of lifetimes would be enough to reach the bottom. They draw from the well of living water that makes them never thirst again. No wonder the magi have such splendid gifts for this newborn king. They understand the treasure that they’ve found. They know how wise men from ages past would have done anything to experience the historic moment they were experiencing. 

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit  that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

We pray that all may meet Christ before they die. In fact, this Gospel passage is a fulfilment of that promise. It may seem like we have to wait for God for a long time when we are waiting for an answer to our prayers, but he does answer them in his timing. His timing is better than ours because he knows things we do not know, and his understanding of us and the truth are perfect. Christ came in the fullness of time, on just the right day. It was all planned from the beginning, from the day we fell in the Garden of Eden and God told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15), referring to Mary and Jesus bringing salvation to the world.