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a playground, what seem like obstacles to the child are long previewed by the
parent, so that what seems most daunting to the little one is surrounded in
"invisible" parental awareness and preparation.
The Gospel passage is a scene-setter for Jesus' full ministry. His time of adula-
tion is congealing. He is a celebrity. Even his enemies, in the form of evil spirits
have to give him his due. But unlike the Kings and generals, like Saul and David,
Jesus puts a stopper in that type of praise that can be misunderstood, twisted,
and warp a prophetic mission into a self-serving celebration of the personal-
ity. He was willing to do the work, do the healing, do the preaching, do the gath-
ering of the nations, but he was wary of the temptation of every leader and ce-
lebrity to bathe in the intoxicating ether of taking the moment
for something more than it was. He knew that if he bought
into the momentum of the crowds as an act of Divine affir-
mation, he would be just as misguided as Saul when he mis-
took praise for threat. Saul needed a Jonathan to help him
straighten out, whereas Jesus already lived in the wisdom of
David's psalm, "Now I know that God is with me. In God, in
whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear; what can
flesh do against me?"
Prayer
Father of creation, let me be an instrument for Your purpose,
and understand that my life is Your gift. Protect me from the
temptation to think that the praise directed at Your achieve-
ments was somehow meant for me.
_______
Don Milici
Parishioners