Commentary on the Gospel of
An oriental saying goes thus: “When the wise guru points to the moon, the only thing the idiot sees is the finger.” The sacred Scriptures are fingers pointing to Christ, the moon. Once a person discovers Christ, then Christ must become the focus of attraction and worship, not the Scriptures. Like a finger, Scripture is a means to an end, a pointer bearing testimony to the savior. This can also happen in our skewed devotion to some of the saints (who are actually fingers pointing to the moon), endowing them with more power than God Himself!
Jesus reminds his audience that Moses and all of Scripture point to him, but they refuse to come to him. The Israelites made a similar mistake when they forgot the living God and focused their energies on lesser gods who were merely substitute or even deceptive expressions of human longing for God. People fail to find God before them, because they are looking at everything else, except him! The living God and His living Son are waiting to be loved and received. Let us recognize their presence and hasten to them.
(Note: This reflection is a revised and updated version of the author’s own reflection for the same readings in the Bible Diary 2013 [Claretian Publications]. All rights reserved. He may be contacted at: frpaulson@gmail.com)
