Saturday 27 September 2014

Jesus King of Love Series - Bethany

Call to mind a scene which I venture to term a Gospel one, though we do not find it textually in the Gospel. Let us call it the first four visits of Jesus to Bethany. If you read with your heart, you will surely say: The frame may be adorned, but the picture is a happy reality. Something of the kind, and still more touching, must have happened in Bethany.

The first time Jesus came as a visitor, Mary was as yet a wandering and erring sheep and He was received by Lazarus and Martha with a certain reserve not exempt from a legitimate curiosity. Close to them there was the famous Nazarene, whose miraculous deeds were being talked about everywhere. They kissed His hand listened to Him. Who could He be? A Rabbi? A Prophet? Lazarus and Martha certainly felt flattered by such an honour and their interest was roused by so great a personage. Something mysterious which emanated from His whole person had secretly touched and conquered the inmost fibres of their hearts, and so it came about that when bidding Jesus goodbye at the threshold of their home they were carried away by an emotion they had never felt as yet and said: "Master, come back to Bethany. Do not forget us." And Jesus, with a smile which gave them a glimpse of heaven, promised to return.



See Him on His second visit. There were flowers, there was expectancy as for a feast. Lazarus and Martha could scarcely control their joy. The Nazarene was approaching; with loving impatience they went out to watch for His arrival. The respect they now felt was much greater than on His first visit, for love was beginning to dawn in their hearts. This time they were not merely content with listening to Him, they had sufficient confidence to ask Him questions, so the conversation was almost familiar. How simple-hearted and good the Master is, they said to themselves! How sweet and yet impressive is His Majesty! His look refreshes and enlightens, His words transfigure and His Heart enraptures. This time, when He went away, Lazarus and Martha could scarcely restrain their tears, and both with one accord implored Him with simplicity and humility to return again, saying: "From now on, it will be difficult for us to live without Thee; come back to us, Lord; this home is Thine, look on us as Thy Friends!" And Jesus was touched and said to them: "I will gladly be your Friend, and, since you love Me, Bethany will be the oasis of My Heart."



What an outburst of joy and feast of love there was when Jesus returned for the third time! We may call this the loving welcome of the Enthronement. Lazarus and Martha had counted the hours to His return. Since the day when Jesus had said to them: "I will return, and as a friend," their life had been one of unbearable loneliness and longing. Nothing could calm their anxiety, nothing could make them smile. The one golden dream, or rather the one reality was Himself. Jesus had taken  them by storm. At last, He for whom they had longed approached; they ran to meet Him; they fell at His feet and kissed His Sacred Hands. In a real ovation of love and tenderness, they called Him with holy audacity "Friend," and talked to Him with the holy familiarity of disciples who knew themselves to be favoured, understood and loved.

Suddenly when the dialogue was at its warmest, there was a hush; Lazarus drew yet closer to the Master, and throwing himself at the Feet of his divine Friend, broke out into sobs.

"Why weepest thou?" Jesus asked him.
"Thou knowest all things," answered Lazarus.
"Yes," replied Jesus, "I know all things; but since we are true friends, speak, confide to me they whole soul."

And while Martha hid her flushed face in her hands and wept in silence, Lazarus explained: "master, we are two, but we were three in this house. Mary, our Sister, covers us with grief and shame, they call her the Magdalen. We love her so much and she is now the dishonour of Bethany. Jesus, if thou art our Friend, restore her to us cured, saved, and purified." And Jesus, mingling His tears with theirs, replied: "Your Sister shall return, she shall live and Bethany shall be happy!" When he took leave of them that evening, at the threshold of their home, Jesus blessed His two friends and repeated: "Mary will return to the fold for My Father's glory and Mine."

The Gospel narrates the rest: the resurrection of the Magdalen, how she broke at the Saviour's Feet the alabaster box - symbol of her repentant heart - and anointed her Redeemer's Head and Feet with precious perfumes. And when the Lord returned for the fourth time to the house of His friends, the first to come out to greet Him, singing Hosanna, was Mary Magdalen, and from that time on, in that sanctuary restored by the Prince of Peace and King of Love, the three lived for many years inseparable, as they had been before. But now the Heart of Jesus has strengthened the bond between the Brother and Sisters.

The Lord well knew the bitter grief which weighed upon this home, nevertheless to relieve it He waited till the afflicted Brother and Sister wept upon His Heart, and confided their tribulation to Him. He waited till He was the King-Friend of Bethany, and only then did He work the miracle as a reward for their love, their friendship and their trust.



I repeat these scenes are not met with in the Gospel, but is it not true that something similar and still more beautiful must have taken place in that favoured household? Is it not true that you better understand now the beauty of the Enthronement? What is there strange in the fact that the King of Bethany, ever constant in tenderness, should daily ratify by wonders and prodigies, that which we have just asserted concerning the confidence of the true lovers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Happy the home which says when welcoming Him: Mane nobiscum, Stay with us. (Luke xxiv, 29) while the doors are, as it were, locked on Jesus, Who finds Himself bound forever with the bonds of love.

Excerpt from Jesus The King of Love - by Father Mateo

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