What would it be like to see God? Not to see the image of God in the poor or the majesty of God in a mountain, but to actually SEE God. I’m guessing it would be a pretty frightening thing. It sure was for the children of Israel. In today’s first reading from Exodus 19, God shows Himself to the people. And, “all the people in the camp trembled.” Small wonder.
The 13th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel is full of the parables of Jesus. In today’s Gospel reading, the disciples approach Jesus and ask Him why He speaks to the people in parables. He tells them, “Because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ ” He then goes on to quote Isaiah 6, and says to the disciples, “blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” In other words, the disciples “got it.” But the people…well, they just didn’t get it.
Isn’t that the way that faith is. Some people get it. Others don’t. Why is that? Faith is a gift. Does God not offer the gift to everyone? Are there just a select few who get it? I don’t think so. I think the gift of faith is offered to all. It’s just that everyone doesn’t accept the gift. We hear the gospel message. Then we must respond. We can choose to respond positively or negatively. And this isn’t a one-time thing. We choose our response again and again, day in and day out. So…how’s that going for you today?
Father, we thank you for the gift of faith. Help us to respond positively every time we are invited to grow in our faith. Amen.
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