Amazed to Faith!

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Eccl 11:9-12:8; Lk 9:43-45

Today’s Gospel highlights that our amazement should lead to an increase in faith. 

The text describes that the crowd was amazed at Jesus’ ‘every’ deed.

When Jesus finds them carried away by a sense of amazement, he invites them to attention. 

While they are amazed at Jesus, he reminds them of his death. 

Though the truth of Jesus’ passion was hidden from them, we can see for ourselves that the fact that they were lost in amazement at Jesus’ doing also inhibited their understanding of his words. 

As a result, what they fail to understand is that God (Son of Man) will suffer at the hands of men for the salvation of the world. 

This great truth is hidden from them because they do not bother to search for it. 

This reminds me of the story of an African American boy who looked amazed at the various colored balloons flying high, making their way to the sky. His only doubt was if a black balloon would also soar high like the rest. When he approached the balloon seller with his question, the latter made the little boy understand that it was not the color of the balloon but the air inside that made the balloon fly high. 

The crowd reminds us that, just like the boy, in our amazement, we may miss out on some essential truth. 

Amazement is a wonderful starting point for faith, but it should not be a saturation point.

Let us pray for God’s grace that our amazement may increase our faith. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar