Daily Gospel Meditation & Discussion - Tuesday 2 December 2008 - SIMPLICITY and WISDOM TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND HIS KINGDOM

[BarbaraTherese]

Prayers and Liturgy of Today
Two Posts Daily
First Post

Second Post

Readings and Meditation
Readings

Do you hunger for wisdom and understanding of God and his kingdom?

• Jesus remarked that many prophets and kings before him longed to see and understand God’s plan of redemption.
• When King David’s throne was overthrown and vacant for centuries, God promised, nonetheless, to raise up a new king who would rule forever!
• The kind of king which God promised his people was different from their understanding. They had hoped for …here

 

[BarbaraTherese]

s2ew.ocarm.org/pls/ocarm/consultazione.mostra_pagina?id_pagina=548

Today’s text reveals the depth of the Heart of Jesus, the reason for his joy. The disciples had gone on the mission, and when they return, they share with Jesus the joy of their missionary experience (Lk 10, 17, 21)

• The reason for the joy of Jesus is the joy of the friends. In listening to their experience and in perceiving their joy, Jesus also feels a profound joy. The reason for Jesus’ joy is the well-being of others.

• It is not a superficial joy. It comes from the Holy Spirit. The reason for the joy is that the disciples – men and women – have experienced something of Jesus during their missionary experience.

• Jesus calls them “ little children”. Who are the “little children”? They are the seventy-two disciples (Lk 10, 1) who return from the mission: father and mother of a family, boys and girls, married and single, old and young. They are not doctors. They are simple persons, without much science, much study, but they understand the things of God better than doctors.

• “Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased you to do!” A very serious phrase. It pleases the Father that the doctors and the wise do not understand the things of the Kingdom and that, instead the little ones understand them. Therefore, if the great want to understand the things of the Kingdom, they should become the disciples of the little ones!

• Jesus looks at them and says: “Blessed are you!” And why are they happy? Because they are seeing things which the prophets would have liked to see, but did not see. And what will they see? They will be able to perceive the action of the Kingdom in the common things of life: to cure the sick, to console the afflicted, to expel the evil from life.

Personal questions and Discussion

1. 
   *]• I take the place of the people: Do I consider myself as belonging to the group of the little ones or to that of the doctors?
   *]
   • I take the place of Jesus: Which is the basis of my joy? Superficial or profound?