TO SEE THE EMPATHISING LORD

The Lord... who is like us, who likes us and who likens us to himself!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 27, 2024
Jeremiah 31: 7-9; Hebrew 5: 1-6; Mark 10: 46-52

"God"... How do we understand that term: the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Mighty One? With those conceptions, we are still short of looking at that God whom Jesus introduced to us! In and through Jesus we have been introduced to a God who is all these but more than all these; a God who is close to us, a Father who loves us, a mother who cares for us, a beloved who longs for us, a friend who stays close to us and a Saviour who came down to save us... in short, an Empathising God -  it is that grace we need to seek today: to see the Empathising Lord! 

How do we understand the Empathising Lord?

The Lord is like us: 

We have a Lord who is like us... like us in every way except our sins. A Lord who came among us, ate, drank, laughed, cried, enjoyed, celebrated, loved, worked, faced hardships and temptations... He was like any of us, just like us and therefore, when we suffer, when we are troubled, when we have problems and temptations, the Lord perfectly knows what we are through. As an empathising Lord, he is not out there to judge us from afar or look down on our weaknesses, but someone who would put His hands around our shoulders and comfort us, someone who would sit by our side and whisper into our ears: 'it's okay! I have been there too'! The second reading presents this Lord to us.

The Lord likes us: 

We have a Lord who likes us... who loves us, who feels for us, who wishes that we were happy, who wants to heal us, who wants to give us all that we need, who wants to walk us to prosperity and fullness, who wants to give sight to us, who wants to listen to us, who wants to reach out to us! God our Father and Mother who spared no effort, giving up even the only Son; the Son who keeps back nothing, not even his own life by way of his body and his blood; the Spirit who comes down to dwell within us, within our poor bodies, in our lowly conditions, in our daily toils. This is the Lord who loves us, likes us so much that he is ready to do any thing for our sakes. As the first reading and the Gospel present to us, we are invited to see this Lord who is merciful and kind, who is in love with us. The Gospel in a special way speaks of a Lord who listens to a lone cry amidst the large crowd, and has mercy on that person and heals the person in love!

The Lord likens us: 

The Lord who came down to be like us, the Lord who dies to show how much he likes us, does not stop with that... God wants to liken us to Godself. The first and the second readings present to us a God who wants to make us God's sons and daughters, God's children, God's beloved ones, God's favourites. God invites us constantly towards this fullness of becoming God's own. We become God's own by opening or eyes of faith. We become God's own by crying out with faith. We become God's own by trusting in faith that God can do and will do everything for us! Thus becoming God's children we will be with God, close to God and like God, for we will see God face to face, as says St. Paul.

Yes, we have an Empathising Lord who was like us, who likes us and who longs to liken us to Himself. How prepared are we to see this Lord present by our side everyday of our life? How ready are we to hold on to the hands of this empathising Lord and look ahead in life with hope? If we find ourselves wanting in this respect, all that we need to do is cry out to the Lord: "Lord, that I may see!"