20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 15/8/2021 - Gospel: Lk 1: 39-56
Knowledge
We are able to gain knowledge of the natural world from reading books, by learning from each other, and from observing the natural world ourselves. An expert in any particular field of studies often has personal interest on that field. The more one pays attention to a particular organism or species the more s/he gains knowledge of it.
Each one of us is endowed with an innate gift, that is essential for us to grow, to learn, and to survive. In the process of learning, personal ambition, ideology and environment, somehow influence the mind of a person, and that shapes one's personal outlook of the world.
Whether one believes or denies God's existence; one can't deny his/her very own existence. One can deny God's love, but no one can deny the duty of care for others. For Christians, the common call for us all is to embrace the two inseparable virtues, and that is to love God, and our neighbours. They are Jesus' commandments of love for us. Apart from that common call, some are called for a specific mission. This special call goes beyond any human explanation, as once Jesus told Peter when he made the confession that,
'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'. Jesus told Peter. 'You are a happy man! because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven' Mat 16,17.
A person can gain knowledge of the world through years of hard studies, but no one is able to please God by hard labour. Upon whom God shows favour is decided by God's free will. Human beings humbly learn to welcome God's will. God chose Mary to be Mother of God; God chose Elizabeth to be mother of John the Baptist, and God chose John to be God's forerunner.
Elizabeth was not a biblical scholar, and yet hearing Mary's greeting, Elizabeth knew Mary, her cousin, was the Mother of God. She was extremely happy receiving Mary into her home. In a humble spirit, Elizabeth was praising God, saying it was God's favour upon her. She wouldn't deserve it, and wouldn't be able to understand why God had chosen her. The same kind of knowledge was given to her unborn child, John the Baptist, who recognized Mary when she came to visit his mother, Elizabeth. The unborn child jumped for joy in his mother's womb.
For those who see the account of the Incarnation with the eyes of reason, it is a fairy tale. To those who see the Incarnation with the eyes of faith, it is real and true. Both Elizabeth and John knew Mary was the Mother of God not through reasoning, but listening. The focal point was not about reasoning, but rather about listening.
The natural world always obeys God, because God is the Lord of nature. The heart of the Incarnation was about God's outpouring love for us. Love has no logic, because it listens to the voice of a heart. There is no logic in human relationships. For both Elizabeth and John, their hearts, were filled with joy and peace when they heard Mary's greetings. They didn't understand the calls, but they loved God above all things.
We have never seen God, but sometimes we feel God is near, and that was the experience all holy men and women enjoyed.
We pray to have more faith in God.
Each one of us is endowed with an innate gift, that is essential for us to grow, to learn, and to survive. In the process of learning, personal ambition, ideology and environment, somehow influence the mind of a person, and that shapes one's personal outlook of the world.
Whether one believes or denies God's existence; one can't deny his/her very own existence. One can deny God's love, but no one can deny the duty of care for others. For Christians, the common call for us all is to embrace the two inseparable virtues, and that is to love God, and our neighbours. They are Jesus' commandments of love for us. Apart from that common call, some are called for a specific mission. This special call goes beyond any human explanation, as once Jesus told Peter when he made the confession that,
'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'. Jesus told Peter. 'You are a happy man! because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven' Mat 16,17.
A person can gain knowledge of the world through years of hard studies, but no one is able to please God by hard labour. Upon whom God shows favour is decided by God's free will. Human beings humbly learn to welcome God's will. God chose Mary to be Mother of God; God chose Elizabeth to be mother of John the Baptist, and God chose John to be God's forerunner.
Elizabeth was not a biblical scholar, and yet hearing Mary's greeting, Elizabeth knew Mary, her cousin, was the Mother of God. She was extremely happy receiving Mary into her home. In a humble spirit, Elizabeth was praising God, saying it was God's favour upon her. She wouldn't deserve it, and wouldn't be able to understand why God had chosen her. The same kind of knowledge was given to her unborn child, John the Baptist, who recognized Mary when she came to visit his mother, Elizabeth. The unborn child jumped for joy in his mother's womb.
For those who see the account of the Incarnation with the eyes of reason, it is a fairy tale. To those who see the Incarnation with the eyes of faith, it is real and true. Both Elizabeth and John knew Mary was the Mother of God not through reasoning, but listening. The focal point was not about reasoning, but rather about listening.
The natural world always obeys God, because God is the Lord of nature. The heart of the Incarnation was about God's outpouring love for us. Love has no logic, because it listens to the voice of a heart. There is no logic in human relationships. For both Elizabeth and John, their hearts, were filled with joy and peace when they heard Mary's greetings. They didn't understand the calls, but they loved God above all things.
We have never seen God, but sometimes we feel God is near, and that was the experience all holy men and women enjoyed.
We pray to have more faith in God.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
