12/3/2019 ADVENT APPETIZER
[Turning to the disciples in private He said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”] (Lk. 10:23-24)
The prophets of the Old Testament pointed to both the need for their hearers to repent, and the arrival of the messiah . They longed to see the time when God would definitively save His people and restore the kingdom of Israel.
Jesus tells His disciples just how blessed they are since they see and hear the longed for messiah. Blessed are the disciples to hear the word of God directly from His mouth and see Him right in front of them. Though Jesus doesn’t walk among us, we, Jesus’s disciples, are blessed because we too see Him, and hear His words just as did the first disciples.
At Mass we hear Him speak in the Scriptures and the homily. We see Him in the Eucharist. Greater still we eat His flesh and drink His blood. Blessed are we who see God, hear His words, and are nourished by the body and blood of the longed for Messiah.