Hidden treasure
The spouse of the Canticles says that... she arose to look for her Beloved in the city, but in vain; after having gone out of the city, she found him whom her soul loved! (Sg. 3,1-4). Jesus does not will that we find his adorable presence in repose; He hides Himself... Oh! what a melody for me is this silence of Jesus. He made Himself poor that we might be able to give Him love. He holds out His hand to us like a beggar so that on the radiant day of judgment when He will appear glory, He may have us hear those sweet words: "Come, blessed of my Father, for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I did not know where to lodge, and you gave me a home; I was in prison, sick, and you helped me,» (Mt 25,34-36). It was Jesus Himself who spoke these words; it is He who wants our love, who begs for it. He places Himself, so to speak, at our mercy; He does not want to take anything unless we give it to Him...Jesus is a hidden treasure, an inestimable good which few find, for it is hidden, and the world loves what sparkles. Ah! if Jesus had willed to show Himself to all souls with His ineffable gifts, no doubt there is not one of them that would have despised Him. However, He does not will that we love Him for His gifts, He Himself must be our reward.
To find a hidden thing one must hide oneself; our life must then be a mystery. We must be like Jesus, whose face was hidden,» (Is 53,3)... Jesus loves you with a love so great that, if you to see it, you would be in an ecstasy of happiness... but you do not see it, and you are suffering. Soon, Jesus «will stand up to save all the meek and humble of the earth!» (Ps 76[75], 10).
What stood out for me was the sentence.."He made himself poor so that we might love him."
Isn't it just like Jesus to do that, to make Himself approachable for all? Think about it for a few minutes of your time. When we read about the world's wealthy we say to ourselves that they have everything, they lack for nothing. It was not any different in the time of Jesus on this earth, the very poor saw the rich and said the same thing to themselves. Jesus knew that he would be despised and shunned if he came looking like a wealthy socialite but instead He wanted to be able to reach the furthest into the sea of humanity and at least have a chance of someone accepting Him just as a person, someone sitting on the other end of that park bench, someone you would open up to and tell what is burdening your heart. Jesus wants us to care for Him and accept Him for Himself, not for what He may or may not do for us (isn't that exactly what we want too...acceptance). Please ponder on this and let Him know how you feel about this, that He threw off all remnant of His position as creator and King to be born in a feeding trough. He did not do it to fool us or make a mockery of how we live, He did it because He wants to live as we live, to love as we love so that we will know that He understands us and why we do the things we do. He did it all for us, you and me.
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