"In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David" (Jeremiah 33:15)
In Sunday’s first reading, God promises to raise up "a righteous Branch" who will "execute justice and righteousness in the land", a prophecy that will be fully complete only when Jesus comes again in glory to judge us all.
Until then, Jesus, like a "branch" growing underground, is hidden among us: only at the last day will the root "spring up" visibly for all to see. Until then, Jesus can only be seen indirectly, through his Church.
We too are called to grow steadily as we wait for Jesus to appear again. In the second reading, St Paul prays that the Thessalonians "increase and abound in love for one another and for all" and urges them to please God "more and more".
When Jesus returns, our inner growth, or lack of it, will be unveiled: in the Gospel he says we will either "faint from fear" or stand up straight with raised heads "before the Son of Man".
Jesus himself grew "in grace and wisdom" in the hidden years of his youth (Luke 2:52) and he "learned obedience from what he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). To be a Christian, we must, by his grace, imitate Christ’s mysterious growth in human virtue, especially through our sufferings.
This growth is often hidden in the little things of each day. St Paul repeats the phrase "more and more" just after the verses selected for our second reading: "we exhort you, brethren, to [love each other] more and more, to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands" (1 Thess 4:10-11).
In the quiet details of normal life and work, we can grow steadily and silently in divine life through our practice of virtues and God’s ceaseless grace.
If we "stay awake at all times, praying" then we will be ready to meet Jesus again. As the <em>Catechism of the Catholic Church </em>(2697) says, "we cannot pray at all times if we do not pray at specific times".
Jesus was hidden in the womb of Mary before his first appearance and he is hidden in heaven until his second. He was also concealed in the tomb for three days before springing forth in glory.
By the grace of his death and Resurrection, we can constantly grow in grace, through the "hiddenness" of our ordinary activities, if we have a rhythm of prayer.
<em>(Photo credit: Kalawin / iStock by Getty Images)</em>
<em>Fr David Howell is an assistant priest at St Bede’s in Clapham Park. His previous studies include canon law in Rome, Classics at Oxford and a licence in Patristics at the Augustinianum Institute in Rome. He is a regular contributor to the </em>Catholic Herald<em>; his other articles can be accessed <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/author/frdavidhowell/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a>.</em>
