Angry Jesus, magnanimous Jesus

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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Memorial of St. Vincent, Deacon & Martyr, 22 January 2025
Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17     <*((((><  +  ><))))*>     Mark 3:1-6

Dearest Jesus:
Your words today are
so difficult;
I cannot imagine 
you angry 
as you looked
at the Pharisees 
"with anger and grieved 
at their hardness 
of heart" (Mark 3:5);
but, as I imagined your face, Lord,
I experienced deep in me 
what made you angry enough
to do something so drastic like healing
the withered hand of a man
on a sabbath:
it was purely love,
it was not anger due to
hate and bitterness
but magnanimity
or generosity despite
and in spite of everything
because you are indeed, 
Jesus our High Priest forever 
according to the order 
of Melchizedek:

Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High… His name first means righteous king, and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace. Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever (Hebrews 7:1, 2-3).

Let me examine myself
what is it about you, Jesus
 that I am so afraid of you
and made me many times
 like the Pharisees
be so hardened against you;
take away my stony heart,
dear Jesus and give me a
natural heart that beats with
firm faith, fervent hope,
and unceasing love and charity
for others especially those
in need and
those lost.

Like your deacon
and martyr St. Vincent,
the first martyr of Spain,
fill me Jesus with your peace
and tranquility
to bear all sufferings that
his jailer repented
and was converted;
make me magnanimous,
Jesus, like you
especially in this time
when losers refuse
to accept defeat
that they insist on their
wrongful ways
due to hardened hearts.
Amen.