Many years ago, a wealthy merchant purchased a powerful microscope. He was fascinated with it. Looking through its lens at crystals and flower petals, he was captivated by their beauty and detail. He spent many enjoyable hours with the microscope until one evening when he placed under the lens a morsel of the food he was about to eat for dinner. He was horrified to see the disgusting, monstrous-looking organisms crawling in it. He loved this particular food very much. He agonized over what to do. Finally, he concluded...
Many years ago, a wealthy merchant purchased a powerful microscope. He was fascinated with it. Looking through its lens at crystals and flower petals, he was captivated by their beauty and detail. He spent many enjoyable hours with the microscope until one evening when he placed under the lens a morsel of the food he was about to eat for dinner. He was horrified to see the disgusting, monstrous-looking organisms crawling in it. He loved this particular food very much. He agonized over what to do. Finally, he concluded that there was only one way out of his dilemma He picked up a mallet and shattered the microscope to pieces.
Like the microscope that reveals more than the merchant wants to see, Jesus comes to proclaim a Gospel that is more than we bargained for. The reign of God that Jesus proclaims is founded on a concept of justice and an attitude of reconciliation that can scare us, that threatens the isolated cocoons we sometimes create for ourselves, that shatters our sometimes-self-centered approach to the world
To those who really understood Him, Jesus’ teachings did not suggest comfort and joy; they objected to Him as a dangerous firebrand, an idealistic radical who had no grasp of reality or the complexities of the world.
And it's true, Jesus' Gospel is not one of comfort (at least not to the comfortable), nor is it a Gospel of peace to those at war with themselves and those around them, nor is it a Gospel of love to those who are concerned only with themselves. “Love your enemies and pray for them, invite to your table the poor and those who in no way can repay you, forgive seventy times seven, seek the lowest place, take up your cross and follow.” These are dangerous, radical, and subversive teachings that will surely undermine comfortable and complacent lifestyles and threaten what the world often holds dear.
The scribes and Pharisees – and even some today – would agree with the wealthy merchant: Better to destroy the lens of the microscope than being overwhelmed by the vision we see.[1]
May we have the courage to look deep within our hearts and souls and look deeper into the Gospel message of Jesus and turn to Him for the support, help, and guidance we need to follow in His ways.+
[1] Cormier, Jay, Connections: The Weekdays of Lent, MediaWorks, Londonderry, NH, 2007, p.14.
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