I love getting the slightly controversial passages in Scripture that could have several different meanings. It is fun because I get to research what others who are much smarter than I have said about these verses. But then I also get to reflect on what the verse means to me and how God is speaking through it. The Gospel today is one such verse.
It seems very strange that Jesus would ask the disciples to pay attention to what he is telling them but then in the next sentence make it clear that the meaning of his words were hidden from them. Why would God try to communicate something but then purposefully hide its meaning? There are some great commentaries on this passage and I encourage you to look some of these up and see how they strike you. But my take on it is that the disciples weren’t ready.
They needed to hear the basics of what was going to happen but God could tell that they weren’t ready yet for the meat and potatoes. Notice that he doesn’t just hide the meaning from them and tell them good luck, but instead he reveals the true meaning over time. He gives them the sprinkles so that eventually they will be ready for the whole ice cream cone.
The Catechism tells us how God has chosen to reveal himself. “God communicates himself to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.” (CCC 53)
A pedagogue was someone in ancient times who would walk with a family and especially with the children and make sure that the things they were learning outside the home conformed with what they were learning in the home. Jesus is the divine pedagogue. He walks with us in stages in order that we might draw closer to him. He ensures that the things we learn here on earth conform with the realities of his father’s house.
In order for this to be effective it must be done in stages. If Jesus asked the disciples to follow him and then immediately said that at some point they would be eating his flesh, they would have lost it. They would not have been ready. It is the same for you and I. God works on us gradually and gives us exactly what we need when we need it. This ensures that eventually we get to the point where we no longer want the baby food, but we want the steak. God loves us so much that he wants us to experience the fullness of his love. We just have to endure the fasting of this life so we can properly enjoy the wedding feast that awaits us in heaven.
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
Daily Reading
Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 ECCL 11:9—12:8 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart,…
Saint of the Day
Saint Wenceslaus
Saint Wenceslaus, born near Prague, transformed a pagan Bohemia into a Christian stronghold. Martyred by his brother at 22, he became the Czech Republic’s national hero and patron.
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