THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Jer 7:23-28

Ps 95

Luke 11:14-23

In this morning’s gospel reading (Lk 11:14-23), Jesus meets with people who put the worst possible interpretation on his healing and life-giving work. They claim that the power behind such work is ultimately the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, the power of Satan. They were blind to the reality that it was the kingdom of God that was overtaking them through the ministry of Jesus. It is hard to imagine people having such a skewed view of Jesus. Yet, to a much lesser degree perhaps, we are all prone to misreading situations and people. 

The gospel reading suggests that we can fail to see what Jesus calls ‘the finger of God at work around us. We can miss something very significant, something of God, for whatever reason. Perhaps we are working out of prejudices that we haven’t fully acknowledged or the way we might imagine how God draws near to us is too limited and fails to do justice to the surprising nature of God’s ways. The journey of repentance for all of us involves a growing openness to the many ways that the kingdom of God is overtaking us and the finger of God is at work among us.

Let us pray: Lord, our God, grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for your benefits, fear of your judgment, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence. Amen

+Remain blessed