Saint Thomas Aquinas Thursday - 2 - Purpose
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To reveal what is hidden can be as terrifying as it is illuminating. While the old cliche that “knowledge is power” holds true, there is also something to the counter cliche that “ignorance is bliss.” The main theme of the first reading and a minor theme of the Gospel is that of revelation. Both of these revelations are powerful and terrifying. However, both of these revelations are necessary in order to fulfill God’s will. Fittingly, the liturgical event we celebrate today is another hiding away in order to ultimately fulfill God’s will in sending his Son, Jesus.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is presented to the Temple in her childhood first in order to serve the Temple. This is to prepare her to be a Temple herself, a dwelling place for God, when she bears Jesus in her womb. She, herself, is also a revelation of God’s plan for the Church, which must be hidden away until her time as come. While the Church is now the public extension of Jesus, the Body of Christ, in the world, her glory has not been fully revealed. Similar to her founder, Christ, it will not be until his glory is revealed at his second coming at the end of time.
In Revelation 5, it is the one who is “worthy” who can break open the seal. This is because only Jesus could fully reveal God to humanity, and he did so through being “slain.” This ushers in the “kingdom of priests” so that God can be served rightly.
While there is much that is mysterious to the book of Revelation and the world events it covers, it is becoming increasingly evident that it, at least, refers to the contemporary persecution of the Church and destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Roman Empire. This is what Jesus so often prophesies in the Gospels, including today’s reading. Unfortunately, it is “hidden” to the eyes of the people of Jerusalem. Jesus does give short revelations of his nature to the apostles beforehand, theophanies they are called, like his baptism and transfiguration. However, it is his death and resurrection that are the ultiamte manifestations of his identity, when he is revealed.
Mike Schramm lives in southeastern Minnesota with his wife and seven children. There, he teaches theology and philosophy at Aquinas High School and Viterbo University. He earned his MA in theology from St. Joseph's College in Maine and an MA in philosophy from Holy Apostles College. He is also the managing editor of the Voyage Compass, an imprint of Voyage Comics and Publishing, and co-hosts the Voyage Podcast with Jacob Klatte.
