SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, RELIGIOUS (MEMORIAL)

If out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these.

The children had been running races on the beach when a stranger asked if he could join in. They agreed, since the man seemed ancient—almost as old as their parents! Surely they could beat him. Yet they had barely reached the halfway point when he effortlessly sailed past the finish line. “One day, long ago, I ran in the Olympics,” he explained to his breathless opponents. “Did you win a gold medal?” they asked. “No,” he laughed. “I came in last!” Their sense of awe doubled. There was someone even faster than him!

In a similar kind of comparison, today’s first reading invites us to consider “how far more excellent” God is when compared with anything he has created (Wisdom 13:3).

Dwell on that truth for a moment. The intense wind that can tear a tree from the ground is simply God’s breath. The night sky reminds us of the staggering vastness of the galaxies, and yet God holds it all in his hands. Not even the most stunning sunrise can match his beauty. And no relationship on earth can fully reflect the depth of love he has for us!

We see this contrast even more powerfully in Scripture. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Old Covenant sacrifices cleansed the ancient Israelites, but “how much more will the blood of Christ . . . cleanse our consciences” (9:14, emphasis added). And today’s reading invokes the power and beauty of nature to point out how much more amazing its Creator must be.

There is one final comparison that shows how incredible God is. Jesus speaks of the attention our Father pays to creation, clothing the grass and feeding the birds. But then he turns it around: how much more does he value you (Matthew 6:30)? More than everything else in the world!

Let this truth sink in. The Creator of the universe loves you more than the wind, the sea, fire, and all the stars of the sky. He loves you so much that he emptied himself on the cross to save you. In that moment, shorn of any outward sign of his great power, he revealed the greatest thing of all: his love for you.

“Lord, just the thought of your love fills me with awe!”

Wisdom 13:1-9
Psalm 19:2-5
Luke 17:26-37