Friday, December 21, 2012 – Matthew 24
Contemplating the Absent Master
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Again today we have the theme of faith . . . enough faith that we keep constant watch for the coming of Jesus, the healer of all wounds and sadness, the bringer of life and light.
Today is the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, summer in the southern. It seems appropriate that somewhere on the globe there is always light to counter the dark, warmth to counter the cold, bright colors and lush growth to balance the starkness of winter with its chorus of browns and grays. In the tropics there is a different kind of seasonal variation. Change is indicated by a greater or lesser amount of rain, by the kinds of plants that bloom and spread tendrils, by the animals that migrate. Nature is constantly changing, yet remaining in faithful cyclic return.
Today’s citation gives us something to think about . . . constancy amid a whirl of change and distraction. The destruction of a temple that everyone thought so sacred and so certain that it could not crumble, wars and reports of wars, desolating abomination, a fig tree that sprouts blossoms to bear fruit, the faithful and unfaithful servant, the coming of the Son of Man as predicted by the prophet Daniel. We are to be in a constant anticipation of these signs . . . for they will be harbingers of the New City when time and space are infinite.
The Master will come on an unknown day and at an unknown hour. We have been put in charge of his household until his return.
How do we remain in close contact with the Master who is away from home? In this age of cellphones and satellite communication it seems quite simple really: we spend time in contemplative prayer, in sharing our thoughts with God, in seeking the one we love, in recollecting what we know to be true, in imagining how our impossible dreams might be fulfilled. The Catechism tells us (CCC 2712) that contemplative prayer is the act of a “child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more”. Contemplative prayer is “a gift, a grace; it can be accepted in only humility and poverty . . . [It] is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts”. (CCC 2713) “Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus . . . a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart”. (CCC 2715) Contemplative prayer is hearing the Word of God. Far from being passive, such attentiveness is the obedience of faith, the unconditional acceptance of a servant, and the loving commitment of a child. It participates in the ‘Yes’ of the Son become servant and the Fiat of God’s lowly handmaid . . . Contemplative prayer is silence . . . a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. [It] . . . consents to abide in the night of faith . . . [and] The Paschal night of the Resurrection passes through the night of the agony and the tomb . . . [where] we must be willing to ‘keep watch with [him] one hour”. (CCC 2716-2719)
How do we remain faithful to the absent Master? We demonstrate constancy . . . and we awaken our inmost heart, asking it to sing willingly in the darkness, asking it to cling trustingly to the words we know to be true. We set our house in order, we commit to a constant communion with God, and we begin our interior quest for that place where silence reigns . . . and only The Word is heard. Then we can begin to confront our fears and doubts. We can keep our gaze fixed firmly on the one who redeems and saves . . . we can await with joyful patience the coming of the Lord . . . and we can sing in full anticipation of his promises fulfilled.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editice Vaticana. Print.
Written on December 21, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.
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