On Monday, July 11, the U.S. President unveiled the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Thousands of galaxies – including the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared – have appeared in Webb’s view for the first time showing us a slice of this vast universe.
A test given to astronaut candidates requires them to give 20 answers to the question, who are you? John Glenn says the first few answers are easy: 'I am a man. I am a woman; I am a flier. I am an aeronautic engineer, I am an American.' But as you continue, it gets harder and harder to say who you are.
John Glenn's observation illustrates an important point: we can know a lot about ourselves, but not really know ourselves. Or, to put it in terms of today's reading, we can know a lot of facts about the Father but not really know him.
In His prayer in today’s gospel, Jesus contrasts two types of hearers.
- The learned and the wise like the scribes and the Pharisees. They know about God through their study of the law in sacred Scripture, but they do not know God Himself. Therefore, they reject the preaching, teaching and miracles of Jesus and refuse to repent.
- Those people who have no formal education or training in the scribal interpretation of the law. They are just little children in the eyes of the Jewish religious leaders. Among these little children are Jesus’ disciples, the poor, the tax collectors, the public sinners and others like them. Being open to the teaching and miracles of Jesus, they get to know Him well enough to trust Him.
An example of a person who knows another well enough to trust Him goes like this:
A group of scientists and botanists were exploring remote regions of the Alps in search of new species of flowers. One day they noticed through binoculars a flower of such rarity and beauty that its value to science was incalculable. But it lay deep in a ravine with cliffs on both sides. To get the flower someone had to be lowered over the cliff on a rope.
A curious young boy was watching nearby, and the scientists told him they would pay him well if he would agree to be lowered over the cliff to retrieve the flower below. The boy took one long look down the steep, dizzy depths and said, “I‘ll go over that cliff and get that flower for you if this man holds the rope. He’s my dad.” This boy knew his father well enough to trust him with his life.
How well do we know our heavenly Father?
Do we know Him well enough to trust Him with our life?
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- Thank you to the following for homily concepts:
- Illustrated Daily Homilies; Mark Link, SJ
- Justmehomely’sBlog; Rev. Father Joseph Benitez
