5 June 2020 - both son and lord

Today's Readings

(Audio)

How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David?

How could the Christ be both the son of David and his lord? The scribes rightly realized that the Christ would be "descended from David according to the flesh" (see Romans 1:3). Yet, with apparent incongruity, the Holy Spirit moved David to call the Christ his own lord when he wrote Psalm 110. The scribes and the crowds could not have known the answer, for it had not yet been revealed. The reason, we now realize, is that the one who was the son of David according to the flesh was also shown "to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead" (see Romans 1:4).

The great crowd heard this with delight.

What stirred this delight in the crowd? It wasn't as though they could have guessed the riddle's answer. But even so, by posing the question Jesus deepened their hope for a messiah. He hinted that this would be not be an ordinary man. And that Jesus himself knew this hinted that he himself might be that man. It was as though he was inviting them to keep their eyes on him, ready at any moment to be moved to faith that he was the Christ, and from that faith to understanding of all that that entailed. He himself would be revealed as the Son of God, worthy of being called lord by David. But they had to wait for this revelation. It could not simply be spoken or delivered through parables or questions. It could only come through the mystery of the cross and resurrection.

Once the truth that Jesus is the Christ is revealed to us, once we learn and believe, we have to remain faithful to it. We live in a world where people trying to live religiously, to love, do good and spread the Gospel, will be persecuted. We undeniably live in a world where wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. If we do not actively seek to remain faithful we quickly find ourselves numbered among them. To avoid that eventuality we must spend time in "the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." We are no longer in the situation of the scribes who didn't know the true meaning of what they read. We are blessed to be like the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He has interpreted to his Church "what referred to him in all the scriptures" (see Luke 24:27).

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching,
for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

How do we navigate an increasingly confused and polarized world? How do we discern what is right in each new circumstance? We need to begin from a basis in Scripture. Knowing that Jesus is Son of God and Son of Man is meant to be the very basis of our lives. This knowledge frees from being forced into step with the beliefs of the world.

Yet from all these things the Lord delivered me.
In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.

We have more even than the Scriptures. We have the Holy Spirit's teaching on the meaning of the Scriptures as expressed through the Magisterium of the Church and the wisdom of the Saints. When we are at a loss for answers it is here that we can become competent, and equipped for every good work. Assuredly, the world needs us to be thus equipped.

I wait for your salvation, O LORD,
and your commands I fulfill.