The Leave-taking of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross; Holy Apostle Codratus of Magnesia (249-52).
Ephesians 4:14-19; Mark 11:27-33.
Read Mark 11:27-33
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
The scribes and pharisees seek an answer from Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Given that they have asked this question to the One who told His disciples, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7) – why does Jesus refuse to answer them?
Venerable Bede tells us that, “knowledge is hidden from those who wrongly seek it principally for two reasons: first when the one who seeks it does not have sufficient capacity to understand what he is seeking for, and second, when through contempt for the truth one is unworthy of having the subject of his inquiry explained to him.” (Bede, Commentary on Mark)
Perhaps Jesus knew the thoughts of His interlocutors, and knew that their question was not posed by one seeking the truth; rather, by one who wished to ensnare him in his own words. As it says elsewhere in the Gospels: Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? (Matthew 9:4).
We all have questions for God. This is good for our God, “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). But we must keep watch over ourselves and our motives in order to ensure that when we ask, we do so in sincerity, with a desire to know the truth, and to submit ourselves to it.
There are many reasons we might question God, not all of them pure. We can ask out of anger at a particular situation, we can ask out of fear of the unknown, or out of a desire for comfort. When questions arise in our hearts, we can look to the Saints in order to show us how to approach God with these. In the words of St. John Henry Newman, we can pray:
O my God, I confess that Thou canst enlighten my darkness. I confess that Thou alone canst. I wish my darkness to be enlightened. I do not know whether Thou wilt: but that Thou canst and that I wish, are sufficient reasons for me to ask, what Thou at least hast not forbidden my asking. I hereby promise that by Thy grace which I am asking, I will embrace whatever I at length feel certain is the truth, if ever I come to be certain. And by Thy grace I will guard against all self-deceit which may lead me to take what nature would have, rather than what reason approves. (Meditations & Devotions)
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