A reflection on the daily readings, Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.
+ Disciples are disciplined by the word and teaching they receive.
That discipline asks of the disciple to change their thinking, accept new ideas, and be open to be trained and formed, but most of all to follow first with the heart and mind then let the actions follow.
A disciple first of all listens! They trust the teacher or master and accept as truth what the teacher or master teaches.
Then, the disciple shares what they have seen and heard so that others, too, may come to know and love the teacher or master.
Jesus puts it into an image of the sheep following the shepherd and with total trust: “My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.”
And yet when Jesus entered the synagogue — although he definitely wowed the people who came to hear him — they definitely did not become disciples.
Their eyes and ears were wide open; they were truly impressed, saying such things in their astonishment as: “Where did this man get all this?” and “What kind of wisdom has been given to him?” and “What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands?”
Then, they deny all of what they had just heard, seen, and been astonished by as they looked at Jesus and said in so many ways: “Wait a minute. We know this guy. We know where he is from and to whom he belongs. He ain’t that special after all!”
And they took offense at him.
Were they jealous? Were they arrogant?
Was all that had astonished them as Jesus spoke just fleeting thoughts that wouldn’t stick and couldn’t invite new life in them?
+ Perhaps, Psalm 103 today offers an insight as to what might have been missing in these folks.
The psalm speaks of fear of the Lord, which probably is better translated as awe of the Lord.
When something is full of awe, it can become awful.
For example: the sun in the sky is awful, but it can become awful; that is, we appreciate the sun with all its power as something we dare not even look at directly for any length of time. In its very awfulness it can become totally awful to the point of blinding us and destroying our gift of sight.
It is too powerful and must be respected; not feared, but deeply respected!
Only the arrogant and ignorant would dare to look directly at the sun for an extended period of time, and they surely would be blinded by their arrogance and ignorance.
And so, disciples of the Lord — those in Jesus’ time and all of us in the present Jesus’ time of today — it is not arrogance or ignorance that we need, but rather the discipline of seeing and hearing.
That is the mark of a disciple of the Lord Jesus!
Are we sheep, and do we hear the voice of the shepherd, teacher, master?
And do we follow?
Father Perry D. Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.
