After the Pharisees go to plot Jesus' death with the Herodians, Jesus retires to a lakeside.
Numerous crowds follow him there. It is a prefigurement of his passion, "when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself" (John). Jesus is already drawing all men to Himself by the power of his preaching and miracles.
And the people come from all regions to the lakeside. This circumstance signifies that Jesus, after being rejected by the Jews, becomes a light to the Gentiles.
But he withdraws into a boat. Jesus hides his glory a little bit. He withdraws into the boat as he withdraws into the Church and into our very bodies through the Eucharist. The people of God are a vessel in which Christ is partly revealed, partly concealed. But he is never completely concealed in the Church. He is still accessible to his closest disciples, the ones who remain faithful to Him over time, and he still preaches to the nations from the Church. For example, one can think of how many spiritual books our late pope John Paul II wrote for the faithful, and yet how many countries he visited as well.
Lord, draw us to yourself, as a moth to a flame! Grant us patience when we do not understand fully Your mysteries, and reveal to us more and more the extent of Your saving love. Come into our Church, into our bodies, and teach us to see as your see, and shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others, with all the light coming from You.
Mary, ark of the covenant, teach us how to carry Jesus with us throughout the day, and how to share Him with others, or rather find Him there loving through us. Let nothing ever trouble our peace, or make us leave the thought of God, but let each moment draw us further into the depths of the august mystery, further into Love.
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