REFLECTION:
     “He is out of his mind!?!“
    We conclude this week’s meditations with a very short but loaded Gospel: This Jesus was “out of his mind,“ i.e. “CRAZY!“
    To recap, Jesus went afoul with the religious leaders of his time, the Pharisees. Next, he moved from the Center to the periphery and associate with the “unchurched!“ Then he started a “New Covenanted People“ by choosing ordinary unlettered men to form his core group! Crazy indeed!
The “foolishness“ of Jesus, how­ever, finds its ultimate in what the letter to the Hebrews (which we have been reading all week) tells us. Jesus, the High Priest of the New Covenant offered a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. But he did not offer the blood of bulls or goats; instead he offered his very self! He became both priest and victim! Crazy!?!
     But God’s ways are not like the ways of man. And the foolishness of God is a wisdom beyond the wisdom of the world! And all who follow this “crazy Jesus“ can also be rightly called “fools!“ Disciples are “fools for the sake of Christ and the Gospel!“ St. Agnes, our Saint of today was certainly judged “foolish“ for turning down the opportunity to become rich and powerful and instead choosing to die at so young an age! Jesus now asks: Will you join my company?