In Him we receive everything.
In the Gospel, we constantly meet the completely different expectations of people and the intention of Jesus. The crowd that waited for Jesus when he came with his disciples wanted to hear beautiful words and be healed of diseases; came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases (cf. Lk 6:18). And Jesus showed mercy to people by healing them. But healing was not His purpose. It was a gesture of mercy or a sign of the truthfulness of His words. Nevertheless, it was the healings that attracted people the most.
There were other desires as well. They wanted liberation from everything that troubled them. As a nation, in particular, they wanted political freedom. There was hope in relation to Him that He would "set Israel free" (see Luke 24:21). The Lord Jesus was aware of these expectations and tried to correct them, but without much effect. However, his main activities have a very specific direction from the beginning. In today's Gospel, after praying all night, he chose twelve disciples whose list is quoted by Luke. It is no accident that they are twelve. This is the number of the tribes of Israel. 12 stands for excellence in the social dimension. The Lord Jesus begins to build a community, the foundation of the later Church. This community is built on the "foundation of the apostles", its stones are living persons, and its source and summit will be the Eucharist, culminating in communion. This upbuilding begins regardless of the ideas and expectations of the people who listened to him.
A similar process also takes place inside us. We also have completely different ideas and expectations than God's plan which exceeds our thoughts. And just like in the times of Jesus, God gives us some consolations, healings, religious experiences, but these are not the purpose of His action in us. The goal is communion that we still don't understand. Only gradually after the resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit do the disciples discover the truth of Christ's plan. Saint Paul, later in the Letter to the Colossians, gives us today an extremely profound theology of the meaning of Christian’s life. His text is profound that we are not able to fully understand it. Nevertheless, we see a clear emphasis on the personal bond. He writes to us: rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (cf. Col 2: 7)
We are to build not on something, but on Someone, Jesus. All faith is entrustment to the Person of Jesus: For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him (cf. Col 2: 9f)
This is the great metaphysics of the person. Everything that is done in us will be done through Christ and in Christ. In him we receive everything. First and foremost, a life in communion with God. It is beyond our imagination. We, like the crowds in the Gospel, expect Him to improve our lives, and He wants something much greater for us: to live in Him! To understand it and accept it fully, we need a change of heart, which only He Himself can do.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george