Knowing Jesus

A reflection on the Gospel of Mark 1:21-28.

Transcript

00:00 At this stage of my life, there's something I've learned, maybe you've learned it too,

00:07 and it's this. Whenever I think that I have Jesus all figured out, that's when I'm asking

00:17 for trouble. A good example of it is this weekend in the Sunday Gospel. So, a demon

00:25 cries out, "I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But he's a demon, he doesn't really

00:34 know who Jesus is, because he doesn't let the power of Jesus take hold of him. And if

00:42 I really know Jesus, I know that there is always something more to learn about him.

00:49 And so, the happiest way, the most peaceful way, the holiest way to live is in a humility

00:57 in which I'm constantly begging, "Jesus, show yourself to me. Let me come to know you."

01:04 This is why I love Alatea, because every day when I look at it, I learn something new about

01:11 the Church, about faith, but especially about Jesus, either through a saint who was featured

01:18 or some holy person somewhere in the world who's living in a heroic way. It's wonderful,

01:24 and it fills me with awe and wonder, and it makes me want to know Jesus Christ, the Son

01:31 of God, for who he truly is, but to know him in the depths of my life. And that's why the

01:38 way that Jesus responds to this outburst, "I know who you are," entails two things.

01:44 He says, "Silence!" And so I have to have that in my life. If I really want to know

01:49 who Jesus is, I have to live with moments of silence, of stillness, that is to say,

01:56 no distraction in my life, at least for a period of time, so that I can see his face,

02:02 and so that I can hear his voice calling me to him and loving me. And then he says, "Come

02:09 out of him," which means I have to come out of my own thoughts, my own preconceptions,

02:14 my own way of doing things and looking at things, my own willfulness, and to be open

02:19 and surrendered to the will of God. And Alatea helps us with that, too, by teaching us new

02:25 ways of praying and by giving the reassurance that God is always very close. Jesus constantly

02:32 comes to us and wants to share his life with us, and it's a life that we share together

02:38 in the wonder of the community Alatea.

02:40 [silence]