Mark 6:45-52 Hardened Hearts
It is all too common for someone who has experienced a spiritual awakening or after a spiritual “high” to come tumbling or crashing down to earth - back to reality. The same holds true of friends. Today I have them, tomorrow who knows? How true it is what is said in Jewish circles, “If you find a friend, you found a treasure.” But I prefer Fr. Jerome Cummings saying, it is much more provocative, “A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.”
Why were the hearts of the Apostles hardened? What did the Lord do to them? He had just performed the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish. He had just feed the packed and hungry crowd. So why were their hearts hardened? The clue rests with the final verse in today’s Gospel: “They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” Why? The Apostles had not yet received the gift of knowledge; of wisdom. They had not received the Holy Spirit. The Lord had yet to write his law in their hearts. They did not know that the Holy Spirit could only be given once the Lord had left them - ascended back to heaven. The Eucharist and the Holy Spirit are not possible without the Lord back home. The Apostles were not prepared in going alone.
There will be moments when the crowd is fed and when the crowd is in fear. There will be times of grace and times of grief. Heaven has come down to earth, but not yet, not fully. We are in a long period of transition. And for this reason, we experience moments of shell-shock! How on earth can I be happy at one moment and sad the next? “How on earth” explains it all!
It is true, not all have been redeemed. Not all have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. But if we want to be really be honest, then we need to be honest with ourselves; we must admit that at times I do not live my life as a Christian. I do not live a life as one who has been blessed with the knowledge of God and with the gift of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t so much us versus them; it is more like us vs. God, or even better – more personal: me vs. God.
The Apostles were in the presence of the Almighty God, who became man and lived a humble life. No castles, no titles, no kingdoms except for the one in Heaven. The Lord truly lived a great life - a simple life, a life of prayer, of overcoming challenges and obstacles, in making a difference in the lives of others, one soul at a time. It is remarkable what the Lord did in only three years. This should give us so much hope! The Lord has truly blessed us! By being so simple he is so accessible.
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you! (Ps 72:11)
Let us take the time today to talk or walk across the sea and reach out to those in fear. Let us pray for loved ones who suffer persecution and distress. The channel of love is made easy by the words of the Lord, “They will know that you belong to me by the way you love one another.” Let us not fool ourselves to think there is any other way in reaching our final destination. We must be vigilant to not allow anyone or anything to harden our hearts.
Beautiful Meditation Father Alfonse!
ReplyDeleteI loved this: "The Lord truly lived a great life - a simple life, a life of prayer, of overcoming challenges and obstacles, in making a difference in the lives of others, one soul at a time."
That has already helped me this morning to slow down and pray when I was impatient and losing my temper with the kids. And thank you for the reminder to keep focused on living a simple life pleasing to the LORD. "One soul at a time"! I just love that! It does offer so much hope!
Thank you have done (and do) for me and my family!
God Bless, Rose :)
Thank you, Father. I needed this today. God Bless you.
ReplyDeleteI wondered about their hardened hearts. Thanks for clearing that up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was meditating on the Gospel last night the words calm and turmoil kept floating around in my head.
I was thinking about how Jesus went to the apostles while they were rowing, just doing what they were supposed to be doing, and the sea got rough and they found themselves in turmoil, fearful and being tossed around. And the kicker is, he got into the boat with them. He joined them in their turmoil! And the sea didn't calm down until after he got into the boat with them.
This gave me a new insight into how God works. He doesn't just come around when things are going good, he doesn't help us in our turmoil from a distance, he gets into the 'boat' with us, and then, the calm/healing or whatever it is begins to happen.
Just thought I'd share.
"We must be vigilant to not allow anyone or anything to harden our hearts." - This is a winner!!!! A worthwhile new year's resolution I am going to work on.
ReplyDeleteSarah
The same holds true of friends. Today I have them, tomorrow who knows?
ReplyDeleteFriends are more valuable than that to me. I work hard to keep them, even it means humbling myself, admitting my faults and asking for forgiveness.
“A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.”
I disagree. That is a Christian!
A friend is one who I allow into my heart, one I let inside the fortress I’ve built around it. A friend is someone I trust with my secrets, who I am honest with, someone who will accepts me as I am, someone I am willing to accept truth from, someone I will allow to tell me my shortcomings without being offensive or defensive, someone I will listen to when I’ve hurt them, someone I will be humble with and ask forgiveness from when I’ve hurt them, intentionally or not, someone I allow myself to be vulnerable with, someone I protect from harm, even from harm I may cause them. A friend is someone I am willing to listen to when they are hurt or angry, someone I allow to express and own their feelings if they are based on reality or not, someone that allows me to be honest about their shortcomings with them, but in a way that does not harm them. A friend is someone I love. And all this goes both ways.
That’s why I believe, “If you find a friend, you found a treasure.”