“Merciful Father, as you have sent the Holy Spirit on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to write all that You wished and wanted, we pray You, send the same Holy Spirit on us, so that we may understand, appreciate Your Word, and make it our plan of life. This we ask for the merits of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
12….According to the Narratives of the Evangelists, Jesus visited about eighteen different towns and villages in the course of His missionary travels. We are also told that He went into other cities and villages (Mt.9:35; 11:1; Mk.6:56; Lk.13:22.)
We have to bear in mind that Jesus was facing strong opposition, criticism, verbal attacks, insults, always being tempted by tricky questions…two-edged questions…….the sort that whatever the answer, He would have been criticized or attacked.
All this happened throughout His short life. Yes, we do know the answers He gave to all those tricky (for us) questions; answers filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
I always recall St.Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, when she was asked at her trial, at the Court of Inquisition, a ‘tricky’ questions, similar to the ones the Pharisees used to put to Jesus. They asked Joan: “Are you in the grace of God?” If that question had been put to me, I would surely have blundered in my answer. Should I answer ‘Yes’…that would be followed by the accusations of ‘Pride, Self-conceit’. On the other hand, giving a negative answer, a ‘No’, would throw me off the board.
Yes, I admire that young saint, Joan; she in fact answered: “If I am in a state of grace, I thank God and ask Him to strengthen it for me. If I am not, I pray that He would graciously grant it to me.”
I believe, that all those holy souls, even in our days, who try to follow Christ and make His Word, the light of their path in life, will never be abandoned by God. He Himself has told us not to worry when they take us up to court for defending His teachings, for the Holy Spirit will put the right words on our lips.
13….It was not an easy life for Jesus. He had to choose His twelve leaders; teach them, convince them of His Mission. He had to ‘mould’ them as the potter moulds the clay in the ‘shape’ He wanted’(Isaiah). We have to bear in mind that He did not choose intellectuals, just ordinary fishermen, most of them, men of difficult characters… especially Peter, the Galilean.
Curiously enough the Galileans (Galilee means encircled, because it was surrounded by pagan people all round), were renowned for their rash character, as the cowboys say, quick on the draw….in modern terms we might call him ‘hyper’. Peter was as the English say, ‘a rough diamond’., deep down he was good at heart, and truly loved Jesus. The Master had to put up with Judas from Kerioth, the only quasi-intellectual, who always loved ‘money’.
We should also mention John and his brother James, sons of Zebedee, also from Galilee. They were nicknamed ‘sons of thunder’. Well that nickname probably was very fitting for them, as it is recorded in the Gospel.
Jesus had to put up with the stubborn heads of His friends. He did choose three of them; Peter, James and John, He, sort of used to prefer them, taking them even with Him when He was Transfigured on the Tabor, they were with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, yet, their minds could not open. They could not grasp what was going on around them, notwithstanding the signs, the miracles they saw Jesus performing on so many occasions: “O men of little faith”.
So Jesus was not on a holiday ,when He was on earth. The Trials started on the mount when he fasted for forty days. There, He was preparing, studying His Mission , His behavior, the approach He was about to use. The Devil, worried, not approving of Christ’s policy and approach, did his utmost to entice Jesus to take ‘short cuts’. Those were the Temptations, rather Trials.
But Jesus knew what he was doing, needless to say, and for what Mission He was sent for by the Father. The trials, temptations did not stop, when He came down from the Wilderness, the trials kept on going till the last breath He breathed on the Cross. Recall the words of one of the thieves: “If you are the Son of God, save yourself and us.” /14
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