Monday, March 28, 2011

The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13:16

When the disciples asked Jesus: “why do you speak in parables? He answered: “to you have been given knowledge of the mysteries of the reign of God, but it has not been given to the others.” Then He explained to his disciples, people “have eyes and see not, ears and they hear not.”

Why is it that some people have faith to appreciate the mysteries of the reign of God and others do not? The Lord clearly acknowledges that this gift of spiritual insight “has not been given” to everyone. “Many are called,” He says, “but few are chosen.” Some scriptural scholars prefer to translate this as: “many are called, but few answer the call.”

The lives of the disciples of Jesus, who were given the insight of faith to see into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, were transformed totally just as the lives of many Christians today are transformed anew by faith.

It is important to realize that faith is a gift that we cannot argue or reason our way into. St. Augustine learned this lesson the hard way. For years, he lived a life without faith. He found that his mother, a simple woman, had more profound insights into life’s mysteries than many of the renowned scholars he conversed with. This intrigued him. His mother, Monica, possessed the gift of faith, and it was her prayers and witness, it seems, that helped her son on his journey which eventually led him to receive the gift of faith.

We should give thanks to the Lord, daily, for this gift which enables our eyes to see and our ears to hear:
“Blest are your eyes because they see, and blest are your ears because they hear.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy