Oblate Retreat - Benediction

The following homily was given during Benediction on Saturday:

Matthew 9:35-38 -- Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.  At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

Sometimes I think we all get a little bit jealous of those first century Jews and Christians. Faith would be so much more simple if we could have just touched him, seen him, watched him as he did ordinary, even boring things. What did his voice sound like, was it a smooth baritone, a resounding bass, or a crisp clear tenor? Were his hands calloused from hard work or were they miraculously smooth from treating his body as a precious gift? Did those around him realize how blessed they were to simply sit at his feet and watch the play of light across his features? They couldn’t have known as much as we know now, so couldn’t we appreciate all the more the real presence of the Lord?

Just a glance, to know the glance, the gaze of Jesus. Did it cause a person to tremble or to rejoice – “He sees me! He knows me!”; was it in fact a mixture of both? To hear his words and experience the recognition of truth, of True knowledge and perfect reason. A man who knows about the world and its ways, but could pass through the midst of falsehood and still proclaim the Truth.

At times we almost groan and stomp our feet in frustration over having to believe without seeing, to have faith and to trust and to hope. Is it really be too much to ask for a glimpse for just a moment of the glory of the Word made flesh?

The real presence, the experience of the word, the joy of intimacy with Jesus, to share his thoughts and his experiences.

This is the joy of Lectio. This is the joy we search for, the place of our rest and our strength. And it leads us to Christ. To an encounter with his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. We enter into the mystery of Christ’s life through the Word of Sacred Scripture and through the encounter with the grace of God made visible, the sacraments. Lectio, the slow, deliberate, and passionate embrace of Christ’s own life and his revelation from the very Beginning. And then to touch him as he comes offers himself for us to be consumed and to be united with him. It is natural for us to thirst for more, to see him as he is in Glory. But that is for the end, for now … we will simply have to wait and listen as he teaches us at length.

Approximately 35 minutes of silent adoration followed ....