Our world is in chaos. It has been for quite some time, yet we sense it seems to worsen. How do we persevere despite this division and anguish we see all around?
Today’s Gospel offers a beautiful glimpse into the heart of God and to the answer to the question above. The passage begins amidst some real conflict and chaos. We learn that the Pharisees, outraged by Jesus, have begun plotting his destruction.
I could imagine that if I were to discover that someone was planning to destroy me, I may react in one of two ways. I might run for my life in terror and hide, or I might try to fight back and defend myself. However, I admit that I don’t think my first reaction would be like that of Christ.
Jesus, becoming aware of the Pharisees’ wicked plot, leaves quietly, yet many follow him. While he does not cause a stir, He also does not turn anyone away. He cures them. Jesus does not deter from his mission. He continues to serve – healing and preaching. He stays the course despite the very real danger – not inciting or attracting attention yet continuing with what He was meant to do. We are told that this was to fulfill what we read in the opening verses of Isaiah 42. We need to take a few minutes to consider the verses we find there if we are to understand his actions.
It is in these verses that we come to know the heart of Jesus and the heart of God the Father.
Love & Delight
“Behold my servant in whom I have chosen, my Beloved in whom I delight…”
When a parent delights in a child, the parent is simply pleased to lovingly watch the child – to marvel at her beauty, to relish her joy as his own, in essence to bask in the presence of the child. When the Gospel passage references Isaiah, it speaks of how God delights in Jesus, His Beloved.
God is not a distant father or an impartial observer. He is a delighted Father.
God also delights in us. He suffers when we suffer, and He laughs when we laugh. It is crucial that we understand this loving delight as the context for what we read next.
A Reed and a Wick
“A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench…”
These verses puzzled me for years. What do they mean?
A bruised reed is one that is weak. It could easily snap. A smoldering wick is one that is close to burning out.
But we are told that Jesus will do neither. He will not break the already fragile reed, nor will he smother the slow burning fire. Both would be so easy to do.
No, instead we are assured he will not. Jesus is gentle. He is “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11: 29).
Meekness NOT Weakness
Meekness is sometimes mistaken for weakness, but nothing could be further from the truth. True meekness necessitates quite the opposite; great strength is the only way true meekness is even possible.
In this passage, we see an image of what meekness implies – someone having the strength or knowledge to overpower, but instead chooses to protect the dignity and fragility of the other.
St. Thomas Aquinas explains that meekness “moderates anger according to right reason” (Summa Theologica II:II:157). Jesus certainly had the right to react in anger, for what was being done was unjust, yet he withholds his anger. He chooses to act in right reason and love, in meekness, for the good of His children.
Name Your Cross
In today’s world we see so much division. The unity of the early Christians seems like a distant memory, but do not be fooled. God is raising up his people with the most powerful arsenal available – meekness. Meekness is what conquered sin and death through Christ’s active submission to the Cross.
We have innumerable opportunities daily to imitate Jesus. What is the Cross in your life right at this moment? What is it that makes you feel as if your heart is being pressed, crushed three times as Christ’s heart was in the Garden of Gethsemane? Name it!
Beautiful soul, now unite that pain with His. Respond with the greatest strength known to man – meekness. Claim the Divine Will of God, not your own. You need not rely on your own power, for if you do, you will fail.
Where do you find this meekness? In the arms of our Lord, being fully grounded in His love for you. Without this unshakeable knowledge, meekness will elude you, but when you know Who loves you, all things possible. It is here that we will find the power to persevere.
