Today's Gospel

Blessed Are Your Eyes

Welcome back to Radical & Relevant, where each day we look at these readings from 2,000 years ago and we explore how radical they were 2,000 years ago, and how radical they are 2,000 years later, how relevant they were 2,000 years ago, and how relevant they are still 2,000 years later. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of Luke 10:21-24. "In that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to mere children. Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my father and no one knows who the son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son and any to whom the Son chooses to reveal the Father.' Then turning to the disciples, He said privately, 'Blessed are the eyes which see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings decided to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it.'"

What jumps out at you today? It's a short reading, but there's always so many options for a word or phrase or an idea to focus in on. There's this beautiful relationship between Jesus and the Father that he's constantly drawing attention to. There's this beautiful understanding of how they reveal each other to us. And then there's this moment where Jesus turns to the disciples. It's a moment of intimacy. And he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see." That's true for us today, right? Jesus talks about-- okay, he's obviously talking about himself. He's like, "You're here, like prophets for thousands of years have been yearning for the Messiah. And you guys get to be here when it happens." And when Jesus showed up to personally experience the incarnation. Jesus says the same thing to us today, right? "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see." I think about this in relation to the Eucharist. Thousands of years ago, the prophets could not have imagined that God would make himself so radically available to us.

If you look at all of religion, all religions, all history of religion, God has never come so close to man. God has never come so close to humanity. God has never made himself so intimately available to humanity as he does in the Eucharist. And so Jesus says to us what He said to the disciples, "Blessed are the eyes would see what you see." And not only our eyes, but our ability to receive the Eucharist. "For I tell you that many prophets and kings desire to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it." And to that, we can add, "And to experience what you experience, did not experience it." Have an amazing day. Remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.