The authority of mystery

The Gospel for today (Thursday, Week 25 of OT) recounts the perplexity of Herod the Tetrarch (Lk 9:7-9). Presumably he has heard about the great miracles this man from Nazareth has wrought: raising the dead to life, casting out demons, quelling storms, and healing the sick and lepers. Quite naturally, Herod asks, "who is this about whom I hear such things?" The opinion polls are divided. Some think it is John the Baptist risen from the dead, others Elijah, and still others one of the great prophets.

The consequence of categorization.

What is the response of Herod and the people to Jesus Christ, to this miraculous intervention of the divine in history? First, perplexity (Lk 9:7). How are we to understand this Jesus of Nazareth? How is it that a man from such a humble background could work such great miracles? There is something mysterious about this man, something that can't be explained. He does not fit our expectations. There is some power working in and through him whose source remains hidden. 

What is the response to the perplexity that this great mystery inspires in us? It is to categorize: to demystify the mystery, to desacralize the sacred, to make the mystery fit into human containers and expectations. The people place Jesus in their own categories--perhaps this is a great prophet, they say. Herod probably sees him as a miracle-worker with unusual teachings (cf. Lk 28:8). Of course, neither Herod nor the people are right in their assessment of Jesus's identity, though they are not entirely wrong, either.

Do we fit this pattern of behavior? Are we perplexed by the intervention of the divine in history, choosing to categorize the divine according to our expectations, in such a way that we are not entirely wrong, but still far from being right? Note that the people do see something divine in Jesus. They think he is a prophet, because he has wrought extraordinary miracles. And yet the true identity of Jesus, the God-man, still infinitely exceeds their grasp.

Are we fully alive to the working of God in our lives, or are we too busy categorizing God's actions, certain that we know how he does and does not act? In the present moment, we are usually not capable of discerning what is from God and what is not. Discernment requires times (cf. Mt 7:16). Rather than categorizing, would it not be safer to do as Mary does: pondering these things in our hearts (cf. Lk 2:19)? She, who has encountered the deepest mystery, gives it the deepest reverence. 

"Mary, treasured all of these things..."

Herod is not without redeemable qualities. In his perplexity, he "endeavored to see him," to see Christ, though almost certainly for the wrong reasons (Lk 8:9). But we would do well to follow Herod's lead, endeavoring to see Christ, although we should do so inspired by a genuine faith, a faith that seeks holiness, and not out of trivial curiosity. We can bring this faith to all our activities today: our work, recreation, and relationships, seeking to encounter Christ, remaining always open to the possibility of encountering the divine. And when we do encounter Christ, or think that we may have, we must remember to let God be God, as Mary does--to let time unfold the fruit of the mystery present at every moment of existence. Not to categorize immediately, but to respect the authority and logic of mystery, which draws us inexplicably to holiness. 

The gaze of love

Pope Francis visited Sardinia on Sunday and celebrated Mass at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Bonaria. The text of his homily included this beautiful reflection:

"Today I have come among you, indeed we have all come together, to meet the gaze of Mary, because there, there is something like a reflection of the gaze of the Father, which made her the Mother of God, and the look of the Son on the Cross, which made her our Mother.

The gaze of Mary, the Pope tells us, retains something of the gaze of the Father and Son. To accept the gaze of the lover--as Mary accepted the gaze of God in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--is already to be changed, because it is in the gaze of the lover that the beloved recognizes her own value and dignity.

And to come to a truer recognition of our own worth is to more truthfully know ourselves. So we come to a knowledge of ourselves through the love we receive from others. That is why to fall in love, to go out of yourself by living for another, is the only path by which we finally become ourselves. This, precisely because we exist only in relation to others. I am who I am and become who I am only in relation to others--by being a son, a brother, a friend, a student, a colleague, etc. 

The ultimate love, the ultimate gaze that draws us most fully out of ourselves--and in liberating us from ourselves finally brings us to ourselves...this is the gaze of God, the love of God. It is through the gaze of God that the Church, that the soul, arrives at a recognition of her infinite value, her infinite potential...and arrives at a recognition of her vocation: to live with God. 

Pope Francis continues his reflection:  

And with that gaze Mary is looking upon us today. We need her tender look, her maternal gaze that knows us better than anyone else, her gaze full of compassion and care. Mary, today we want to say to you: Mother, look upon us! Your gaze leads us to God, your look is a good gift from the Father, who awaits us at every turn of our journey; it is a gift from Jesus Christ on the Cross, who takes upon Himself our suffering, our struggles, our sin.

How is it that Mary knows us better than anyone else? Because she knows our vocation, to live with God. And she knows the dignity and beauty of that vocation because she already beholds God as he is. 

Through Mary we can realize our vocation, by meeting the Father and the Son. And Mary is willing to give that love to us, since she knows that to be in love is to share that love with others, just as Christ's whole life was a sharing the love of the Father with the world. Amor tendit in alterum. Love tends toward another--love gives. We must strive to meet the source of all love:

And in order to meet this loving Father, today we say: Mother, look upon us! Let us all say it together: Mother, look upon us! Mother, look upon us!"

We cry out, too: Immaculate heart of Mary, pray for us! 

Dramatis personae

For me, there are four in particular:

1. Christ. The God-man. His love is the fulfillment of our deepest yearnings.
2. Our Lady. The God-bearer. The fastest path to union with Christ. 
3. Mother Teresa. The light. A luminous icon of Christ's thirsting love. 
4. Pope Francis. The new evangelist. Our guide to the peripheries. 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us, I trust in you!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, cause of our joy, pray for us!

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, our dearest mother, pray for us!