Convolution and care

“For who has known the mind of the Lord?” is a line from a hymn quoted by Paul in his letter to the Romans from the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today. Friar Jude Winkler comments that this question was the source of incredible wonder for Paul as he came to understand that God does not take away His gifts and Promise. God is faithful to The Covenant with Israel even though the message of Jesus is being rejected by the Jewish believers. Paul understands that the rejection by Israel opened the doors for the presentation of the Word made Flesh to the Gentiles. The mercy shown to the pagan Greek and Roman people is surely offered to the people of the Covenant. Personal experiences of the plan of God, which may seem convoluted to the human mind, may take the form of that encounter with a person who brings new life, joy and praise for God to our minds. Why did we encounter that person, in that place, at that time? Is it coincidence or convoluted Divine plan? The Gospel of Luke, we are reminded by Friar Jude, is very attentive to the special grace which is associated with the ‘anawim’ of Yahweh. The Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel translate the “poor in spirit” as ought not to be confined to economical need and distress, but may comprehend the whole of the painful condition of the poor: their low estate, their social dependence, their defenceless exposure to injustice from the rich and the mighty. The Gospel from Luke today has Jesus advise a Pharisee that the anawim are those you need to bring into your life and you will experience the action of God in love of those who live so close to His grace.