Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17 Psalm 25:4-9, Matthew 21:23-27

There is a strong Advent reference in the last verse from Numbers. Balaam sees that “A star shall advance from Jacob.” That’s the verse that jumps out at me. Balaam makes an amazing claim,

“The utterance of a man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.”

Maybe because we know he’s a prophet we accept this without much question. However, we should pause to realize this says something terribly significant for our understanding of God and God’s relationship with us. He is saying God is intimately knowable. I don’t mean we can gain some access to how the world works or see the future. I mean knowable like two people who love each other and have been married for a long time. Two friends who have spent years together and can enjoy each other’s company without having to do much of anything. Each of these people knows the strengths, weaknesses, cares and desires of the other. That kind of knowing goes beyond information to a felt sense of connection, a loving connection.

That’s the kind of knowing that John of Cross talks about in “The Ascent of Mount Carmel.” He gives an outline of spiritual growth including famously, the dark night of the soul, which leads to spiritual union with God. I’m not suggesting we all are going to try to be mystics in the classic sense. However, I think we all are capable of having our “eyes unveiled” to see and hear what God is doing in our lives. That is what the eminent Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner was talking about when he said that all Christians in the future would be mystics or not exist at all. He was discussing people having a personal experience of God, an intimate knowing. Even the Psalm for today repeats over and over how God teaches us. We may think of this as a reference to right behavior but I think it also points to learning about how God operates with goodness and kindness. It says we can learn God’s ways if we are willing to be humble.

Which brings us to Matthew’s Gospel and the chief priests and elders who have an opportunity to learn something about what God is doing right there in front of them. Instead, they feel threatened and are unwilling to be seen as making a mistake. That’s something I’m sensitive to. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, well maybe more than a bit. So I can see how the learned in the crowd don’t want to be caught making a mistake and losing some respect from the people who know them. Basically that’s what at stake in the Gospel. Jesus has been teaching and doing wonderful things for people. The elders don’t like or understand what’s going on. However, instead of a genuine inquiry, instead of seeking the truth in the situation they adopt a defensive stance. Their very question of Jesus’ authority is really a challenge not a question. As a result they learn nothing about Jesus or what his work is about.

How often do we not understand what is going on in our lives? These are situations that can look like challenges, places where we feel vulnerable, uncertain what others will think, and where we question what we ourselves think is best. This is not the time to be defensive, obstinate or fearful. Rather these are times that require the true eye of the prophet Balaam. We need to be brutally honest with ourselves, that willingness to be humble. That way we won’t shove away what honesty might reveal. We might learn something. We won’t shove away what might be a path to a deeper self-understanding which is the only way to come closer to God’s real presence with us.