A Friend Who Is Near
by Fr. David M. Knight
Monday, February 5, 2024
Week V in Ordinary Time; Memorial of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr
Lectionary No. 329
1Kings 8:1-13; Psalm 132; Mark 6:53-56
"I have built you… a dwelling where you may abide forever.” 1Kings 8:13
In the Jewish Scriptures, God shows himself in the “bright cloud” which, “accessible and impenetrable at the same time… manifests the presence of God while veiling him completely” (Leon-Dufour, Dictionary of Biblical Theology, “Cloud.” See Exodus 13:21, 40:34, Matthew 17:5; and “thick darkness” in 1Kings 8:12).
The “glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud” (Exodus 16:10, 24:16). But now it radiates in the figure “without beauty, without glory” (Isaiah 52:14) of Jesus. “The essential revelation of the New Testament is the connection of glory with the person of Jesus.” The “basic certitude of the Church” is that in Jesus “every human being is henceforth able to have access to God” (op. cit., “Glory” and “God”).
Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us” in human form, walking our streets, jostled by crowds. “As many as touched the tassel on his cloak were healed.” No longer does the Lord dwell “in the dark cloud,” but in the accessible “real presence” of his body in every Eucharist—which is no more real, though different, than his presence in us. “God chose to make known… the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Jesus is in you—and in others. Interact with him.
Friendship is interaction. Interact with Jesus and he will always be present to you.
ACTION: Put your hand on your heart frequently, remembering.
PRAYER: “Lord, be with me. Let me be with you.”
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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