Saturday of 25th week, even numbered year
“But while everyone was full of admiration for all Jesus did…”
Everyone is in admiration before Jesus teaching in parables and in all that he does. Such hope is given back to all those who witness him healing the sick. The disciples don’t understand Jesus in his deep being, they remain impermeable to the depths of his heart. They are people on the ’outside’ who do not have Jesus’ Spirit. They hear, but do not understand.
For sure, they recognise the greatness and immensity of God’s Love that dwells within him, but that God’s Love be so close to us they can only understand this by the announcement of Jesus’ passion.
We wish to enter into this weight that weighs down Christ’s Heart. Our most radical closing in on ourselves coms from the effect of placing ourselves in God’s place. From the fact that we don’t let ourselves be loved by God, trying to remain in a short term vison of the present moment.
They refuse to understand when Jesus announces his Passion very clearly. They refuse the announcement of a suffering servant who is the Messiah. Yet Jesus is sold by Judas, delivered to the high priests! The high priest delivers him to Pilate! From Pilate he is delivered to the soldiers.’ They did what they liked with him.’ Jesus went into an escalade of violence taking him to his death.
“You must have constantly these words in mind :the Son of man is going to be delivered up to men.”
’Hear’, ’listen’, Jesus says words that shock and hurt his closest disciples those who accompany him those whom he chose! Jesus is only saying what the prophets before him said : you her without any understanding, to have ears but you hear not.Jesus is at a crossroads in his life, his road is traced, despite what he sees coming he doesn’t turn around, he does this so that his project be known.
Certainly, we can measure the hell in which many of our sisters and brothers are going through. We experience the misery that whole populations are living. An experience of compassion invites us to join the feelings Jesus has in his Heart : ’Everyone was in a state of admiration seeing all he was doing.’ The
poor are in a state of admiration when faced with admirable ’things’ which Jesus accomplished. This man did only good, his mouth preferred no lie, yet he is ’delivered up to men’.
“But the disciples did not understand what he said ; it was hidden from them so they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.”
Jesus has often reproached his disciples who do not understand his parables, this is s source of great suffering for him. Peter wishes to avoid Jesus’s suffering and he speaks about how to stop it. And yet , he has just recognised that Jesus is the Son of God.
Jesus bites back at him : ’behind me Satan.’
To this same Peter who refuses to have hs feet washed, he will say : ’You shall understand later on.’
Jesus who is given up provokes misunderstanding in the disciples, they are too afraid to question him.
We have a hard time remaining in the Heart of Jesus in order to do the Holy Will of the Father.
Jesus, in his prayers, in every instant of his existence, lives in the Presence of the Father, he knows what is going to happen to him and he wants his disciples to know it so as to carry it with him.
In our path as believers, we can feel very strongly so man difficulties, we might be able to says again ’why are you hitting me?’
Jesus’ mother Mary shared the feelings of Jesus’ heart : ’The Son of man will b given up into the hands of men.’
This is the mystery of our salvation that passes through the disappearing of the most beautiful children mankind has or will ever know, and the breaking of Immaculate Mary’s Heart.