don't contradict him
"Here is My Servant Whom I have chosen, My loved One in Whom I delight. I will endow Him with My Spirit." —Matthew 12:18
Jesus has always been a "Sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34, our transl). Some people respond to the contradiction by trying to destroy Him and His Church, while others follow Him and are healed (see Mt 12:14-15).
Jesus is the greatest Healer of all times. But He wants to be known not primarily as a healer but as crucified Love (see 1 Jn 4:8, 16).
Jesus is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, yet He comes to us as the Suffering Servant (see Mt 12:18ff).
Jesus proclaims justice (Mt 12:12), and He is Justice (1 Cor 1:30). But His "mercy triumphs over judgment" (Jas 2:13).
Jesus is our Judge, Who will, if necessary, accept our decision to be alienated from Him forever and to damn ourselves. However, Jesus has died and risen so that all might be saved and none would be damned (see 1 Tm 2:4).
Jesus is our Redeemer. He frees us only by making us His slaves (see Rm 6:16).
Jesus is God, Who emptied Himself to become a human being (Phil 2:7). This means Jesus is simultaneously fully God and fully man. But how can this be? Totally give yourself to Jesus. Plunge into the paradox and mystery of His infinite love.
Prayer: Father, no one knows Your Son as You do (Mt 11:27). Send the Holy Spirit to lead me into the depths of Jesus (see 1 Cor 2:10-11).
Promise: "At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the Lord left the land of Egypt on this very date." —Ex 12:41
Praise: Fr. Erwin was so immersed in the Word of God that his counter-cultural teachings boldly proclaimed the truth and were the cause of the conversion of many.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, December 29, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 31, 2002