Wednesday after
Epiphany
(I John 4:11-18; Mark 6:45-52)
For the nine days before Christmas many Mexican households
conduct posadas. This tradition is situated in the gospel
verse where Mary lays Jesus in a manger because there was no room for her and
Joseph in the inn. Posada means inn. In the dramatization of the verse, Mary and
Joseph are petitioning the innkeeper to give them lodging. At first, the innkeeper rudely tells them to
get out because there is no vacancy. But
when they ask again, he recognizes Mary as the Virgin Mother and warmly
welcomes the family into his inn. We
should be able to recognize a similar drama taking place in the readings today
and yesterday.
In the gospel passages for these two days, Jesus shows
himself to be the Son of God. Only a
divine person could feed thousands with a few loaves of bread and some fish. Likewise, only a godlike person could walk on
water. Despite Jesus’ transparency on
these occasions, his disciples remain clueless about his identity. As is said today, “they were completely astounded…”
and “their hearts were hardened...” If they
could have figured out who Jesus is, their worries would be ended. They would feel no fear. Rather they would realize that they have been
embraced by love. As the first reading states,
“…love drives out fear.”
First, then we should recognize that we are loved by God
-- completely and unconditionally. Since
we can choose to deny this love so that we do not feel it in our hearts, we must
open ourselves to it. Surely for the
vast majority of us, this is not a demanding task. We are blessed by the people and the
opportunities that abound in our lives.
God’s love, for the majority at least, is hardly more difficult to see
than the rising sun.
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