Dear
Brothers and Sisters, today’s Scripture readings take us to the deep reason why
humanity continues to suffer division and brokenness. Surely, we experience
moments of graces and of divine presence. But we also realize that our personal
and collective lives carry the marks of broken promises and unfaithfulness to
the divine covenant. One of the most astonishing features of biblical wisdom is
that it does not hide failures of great figures like David, Solomon, and
others. Instead, their weakness is narrated with the honesty of an open confession.
One might ask, “why then does Scripture lay bare their falls so plainly?
I think it is precisely to show us the steadfastness of God’s mercy and the
need for us to be humble before God.
The
consequence of Idolatry: In the first reading,
the prophet Ahijah meets Jeroboam on the road. He tears his new cloak into
twelve pieces and gives ten to Jeroboam. Ahijah explains the meaning of his
gesture. Solomon, who once asked God for a listening heart to render justice to
this people and discern good from evil, had let his heart drift from God.
Scripture tells us plainly that “His wives turned his heart after other gods.”
The
challenge of perseverance: Solomon drifted away
from God in his old age. His failure teaches us a lot. Perseverance in our
covenant relationship with God is crucial. We may be gifted, even spiritually
perceptive, but knowing how to use those gifts in accordance with God’s will,
and persevering in that path of righteousness, remains a huge challenge. If the
wisest man, Solomon, could let his heart turn toward idolatry, then we must acknowledge
that our relationship with God requires humility and constant vigilance.
As St
Thomas of Aquinas says: “Since grace does not destroy nature but perfects
it, it is necessary that natural reason should serve faith, just as the natural
inclination of the will serves charity.”[1]
What God has elevated in Solomon was a
nature that still required vigilance and discipline. Perseverance in faith is
not guaranteed by a privileged beginning. Divine grace can elevate and heal us,
but it does not remove the need for us to grow in stable virtues. Wisdom as
a divine gift does not automatically become prudence as a habit, nor does
divine election cancel the slow erosion that comes from repeated compromises
with our faith. Solomon’s natural affections grew without reference to the
God of his ancestors.
Living as a
People of Covenant: Therefore, it is
important to remind ourselves that we are people in a Covenant relationship
with God. When God’s creatures abandon his covenant love, the unity of the
people cannot hold any longer. Our world suffers greatly from the social
consequences of individual sins. God uses Solomon’s story to awaken us to the
cost of unfaithfulness to His Covenant and the urgency of returning to Him who
alone can heal our wounds and divisions.
Grace
without border: In the Gospel, Jesus
enters the Decapolis. The inhabitants were considered distant from the worship of
God. The presence of Jesus in this region proclaims that God’s mercy knows no
borders. “They brought him a man who is deaf and had a speech.” Jesus
takes the man aside, away from noise, and agitation, places his fingers in his
ears, and touches the tongue with his own saliva. Then he looks up to heaven.
The gesture
of looking up to heaven matters a lot in this Gospel. Jesus looks heavenward at moments of life-giving action:
before multiplying the loaves, before raising Lazarus, etc. He knows that His
power flows from the eternal bond of love with God the Father. Thus, He shows
us that every act of healing begins with prayerful surrender to the Father’s
will.
Then Jesus
speaks one word: Ephphatha; “Be opened.” Immediately, the man’s ears opened,
his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. Jesus enters our human
fractures to restore the very capacities we have to live in covenant again; he
opens our ears to hear again God’s voice, our tongues to speak the truth, our
hearts to receive one another. But the
question is: “Are we ready to allow Him to take us away from the crowd to a
lonely place where He will speak to our heart”?
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