Letting Jesus’ power enter into us means experiencing His love, joy and peace, but also His sacrifice
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
The readings for these early August weeks begin with Peter walking on the water, and end with the feast of the Assumption (Aug. 15). There’s a lesson in that trajectory with salvific significance for us.
When Peter walks on water (see Matthew 14), power goes forth from Jesus and enters into Peter, enabling him to do what he could not do on his own.
Immediately after that, people are clamoring to touch the tassel on Jesus’ cloak — and as many who touch it are healed. Again, power is going forth from Jesus and entering into others.
On Aug. 5th we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Major — the oldest Church in the West dedicated to Mary. Behind that dedication is the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) which declared that, because Jesus is God, and because Mary gave birth to Jesus, it is fitting to call Mary the “Mother of God.”
Why does this matter? Because it’s the same lesson, cast into a physical form: The power of Jesus doesn’t remain self-contained, but enters into another person — in this case, Mary. This was the very purpose of Jesus coming to earth: so that His power wouldn’t simply remain in heaven, but would enter into our world — and enter, ultimately, into us.
What we celebrate on the Feast of the Transfiguration (Aug. 6) is this same reality: Power goes forth from Jesus — not for His own sake, but for the sake of the faith of the apostles who witnessed the event.
And where, in the end, does all of this lead? That’s where the Solemnity of the Assumption comes in. Mary, in the most radical way, allowed the power of Jesus to enter into her. Then, at the end of her life, she was drawn after Him: She was assumed, body and soul, into heaven.
So, what will happen to us if we allow Jesus to enter into our souls in prayer, into our bodies in the sacraments and into our schedules in discipleship? That’s the point: Mary’s assumption is a pledge of what Jesus wants to do with each of us at the end of time.
Is it really possible? Well, we celebrate the feast days of St. John Vianney (Aug. 4) and St. Lawrence (Aug. 10) and St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug. 14) these weeks: three men who let Jesus enter into their earthly lives, and so they entered into His heavenly life. We celebrate the feast days of St. Clare (Aug. 11) and St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Aug. 12): two women who let Jesus enter into their earthly lives, and so they entered into His heavenly life.
Ah, but do we want it?
If we let the power of Jesus enter into us, then we’ll experience His love, His joy, His peace. And that’s marvelous — everyone seems to want that! But letting the power of Jesus enter into us requires allowing His obedience and His sacrifice to enter into us, too. That can hurt — and so people draw away from that.
When Peter let the power of Jesus enter into him, he could walk on water. When he forgot to surrender himself to that power, he sank. The same choice is offered to us. These first two weeks of August, which will it be?
