The whole of the Bible is a record of this divine intention. In practice, it becomes a mutual seeking, a seeking veiled in mystery. One party in the seeking is revealed as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The other party – the human creature – is made in the image and likeness of the “I AM”. There is much revealing and concealing that goes on in this relationship – two lovers seeking to find each other!
Eschatology – from the Greek word, eskhatos, meaning “last” – reflects on the “last things”. Eschatology thus addresses the question: Where is it all headed? Apocalyptic – from the Greek word, apokalypsis, meaning “revelation” – describes the style of writing and speaking in the Bible about those “last things”. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible is typically vivid, giving us a sense of a total replacement of the world as we know it with the world as God intends it. Reflection on the “last things” and the manner of that reflection, together proclaim the victory of God. Central to the intent of this proclamation is the message: “Stand firm! Trust in God’s promises!”
Truth is manifest in time and place but it transcends time and place. Our access to the kingdom of God is through the truth we encounter now, at this time, here, in this place. Discipleship is life grounded in truth.
When we reduce all issues to “problems to be solved” all we need is intelligence, application and money. When we realize, however, that life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved, we see there is more than a little madness about the spirit of our times.
The widow – and all those who find themselves amongst the marginalized, the destitute, the vulnerable and the powerless of this world – have something to give us. Each is a bearer of God’s presence with a word to be spoken “out of their poverty”.
Herein lies our hope and our sense of purpose. We become hope-filled and purposeful when we hear this profound truth. When this truth gets into our hearts, our souls, our minds – and that is what it means to hear – it transforms us. It sets us in motion. There is therefore nothing more important for us than to hear this truth.
Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have …
Grace does not remove the tragic line that runs through every human heart. Rather it enables us to grow as we experience it and face the truth of it.
An ethical vision focused by “No!” – “No! I have not murdered, I have not committed adultery, I am not a thief or a liar, I do not bear false witness and I am not a fraud,” is a good place to start. But it is not a good place to end.
Even as we meditate on the vision Jesus gives us, we cannot forget that this journey of marriage is a vulnerable reality.