“Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek always the face of the Lord” (Psalm 104:3-4)
This text from the Psalms is the entrance antiphon for today’s mass. It summarises the theme of the readings and prayers. But what is the connection between searching for the Lord and rejoicing?
First, there are different kinds of searching, or seeking. There is searching for something you don’t have but would like to have, like searching for a new job or a new house. There is searching for something you used to have but don’t have anymore, like searching for your lost glasses. Then there is searching for a deeper understanding of something you already have, what we might call ‘soul-searching’. Thankfully, seeking the Lord is always that third kind of searching, for even if we have not yet been baptised, or even if we have lost communion with Christ through serious sin or neglect, it is always God’s grace that prompts us to seek Him. Rejoice, for if you are seeking the Lord, it means He has already found you!
Second, rejoice you who seek the face of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ, for you have found life where others have searched in vain. In today’s gospel reading Our Lord rebukes the crowd for searching the Scriptures for wisdom without realising that they point to Himself. Our Lord rebukes the crowd for seeking praise from one another without seeking praise from the one true God. Let us therefore keep our hearts firmly fixed on Jesus and the strength he offers, lest we should seek a false alternative in His place.