Saturday 15th week in ordinary time
"Mt 12:14-21"
But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him, how to destroy him.<br><br> Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all, and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:<br><br>“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,<br><br>my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.<br><br>I will put my Spirit upon him,<br><br>and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.<br><br>He will not wrangle or cry aloud,<br><br> nor will any one hear his voice in the streets;<br><br>he will not break a bruised reed<br><br>or quench a smoldering wick,<br><br>till he brings justice to victory;<br><br>and in his name will the Gentiles hope.”
Jesus withdrew from there, and when He had healed 'them all', He ordered them not to say anything. It looks like He was playing hide and seek! Some people wonder why God is not more visible, easier to find... But that is the prophecy: "He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear his voice in the streets".
Pope Benedict XVI told the rabbinical story of Jehel, a little boy, who comes running into the room of his grandfather, the famous Rabbi Baruch. Big tears are rolling down his cheeks. And he cries, "My friend has totally given up on me. He is very unfair and very mean to me." "Well, could you explain this a little more?" asks the master. "We were playing hide and seek," answers the little boy. "I was hiding so well that he could not find me. But then he simply gave up and went home. Isn't that mean?" You see? The most exciting hiding place has lost its excitement because his friend stops searching for him. The rabbi caresses the boy's face, himself with tears in his eyes. And he says, "Yes, this is not nice. But look, it is the same way with God. He is in hiding, and we do not seek him. Just imagine! God is hiding, and we people do not even look for him."
God is in hiding. He waits for us to set out in search of Him: "May you seek Christ; may you find Christ; may you love Christ" (St Josemaría). That's what we do when we pray with the Gospel and help other people search for Him in the Gospel, because we can be sure that as soon as they find Him and listen to His Word, they will definitely love Him...
St Josemaría taught that "we always go, and return, to Jesus through Mary." The best way to find the Son is to search for Him with the Mother. She knows perfectly where to find Him.
