Document: /pub/resources/text/taize/johannine: jh9406.txt
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Johannine Hour from the Taize Community, France - June 1994

Matthew 12,15-21

Everywhere he went, Jesus knew how to awaken hope. Like no one else, he
came up with the word or act that could bring people back to life. In
this text, we see at first that he is followed closely by the crowd; he
cannot get away from them. But the words in the passage help us
understand that he is willing to help without a trace of hesitation:
"and he healed them all" (v.15). But immediately he leads them further
on: "He warned them not to make him known" (v.16). The evangelist,
apparently astonished at Jesus' attitude, turns to a text from the book
of Isaiah. How can we understand the behaviour of this man who brings
others to life and who does not want to draw attention to himself?

The prophet describes a man upon whom the Spirit will rest and who will
proclaim judgment, in other words all the good that God asks for and
helps to grow in us. But this servant achieves this without raising his
voice (v.19) and with a delicacy that does not break even the reed about
to fall. The evangelist contemplates Christ: he sees the One sent from
God approach a suffering person without breaking him or her, or come to
someone on the edge of despair without extinguishing the weak light that
remains. Christ never despises anyone. He sees what lies in the depths
of every human being he meets. The person standing in front of Christ is
never viewed merely as a means to communicate a message of some sort.
That person is the one for whom Christ came, for whom he wants to give
his life.

Who do I know who succeeds in awakening hope around them? What is their
"secret"? Can we see a reflection of Christ in them?

[e-mail address taize@cpe.ipl.fr or taize@dkauni2.BITNET]