Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Some years ago, you could buy posters that, at first glance, seemed to be nothing more than a poster of haphazard dots. Only after staring at the page for a few moments would the face or the picture suddenly emerge from the dots. Much to their frustration, some people tried hard but only ever saw dots.
Finding the optical illusion on a poster may give us a few clues to finding the underlying meaning of the Gospel account for today. The people are trying to get Jesus to clearly admit whether he was the long-awaited Christ, namely, the anointed Messiah. After all, the promise that the Messiah would come one day was an ancient part of Jewish hopes, going back to the Book of Genesis and later described by the prophets Isaiah and Micah.
The longer the wait, the more the awaited Messiah was loaded with even more expectations to deliver the people from specific suffering or difficulties in their lives. It is understandable that as more people began to hear about Jesus, listened to his teachings, and witnessed his miracles, the higher their hopes began to rise.
Jesus does address the question today about whether he is the Christ, the Messiah, but his answer is not as direct as the questioners would like.
Jesus tells them that their answer is to be found by observing his works and his preaching, which is happening right in front of them. But the people are too close to the dots on the poster to see the picture. They need to take a step back and look at the full picture. They must also realize that seeing involves a much deeper dimension. It is the faith dimension that demands openness and humility of heart to make an act of belief.
Believing is not opposed to reason, but it does take us beyond the limits of reason and observation. When Jesus tells them to look at what he has done, he immediately declares that he and the Father were one. Observation and belief had to be connected if the fullness of truth was to emerge.
We can remember certain events in our lives that had to be “acts of God.” Often they happened in times of extreme danger or need. When we ask for the gift to see with the power of the Spirit of God, we receive a whole new dimension of God’s presence and love. Suddenly the dots move and dance to reveal who was there all along. When that happens, let delight turn to gratitude, for gratitude leads to a newly discovered joy!
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Lenten Resources