The Gospel according to John (8:21-30)
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
Reflection:
What we see in today’s Gospel is something that happens often through the Gospels. In this reading, the Pharisees clearly are not understanding Jesus’ words, because they had pre-conceived notions of who the Messiah would be, and how that person would act. Even when Jesus speaks clearly to them, they refuse to hear or understand, because the words and actions just can’t be connected in their own minds. In Nazareth, the people there could not accept that the son of the carpenter could possibly be a rabbi, a teacher, nor the Messiah. It’s a common problem, even in our own day.
We are nearing the end of our Lenten journey – in just nine days, we will end Lent and begin the Sacred Triduum, the commemoration of those sacred three days in the life of our Lord. Do we have preconceived notions about how *we* expect God to work in and through us? Or, are we open to be an instrument in God’s hands, *however* He chooses to use us? That latter option is a hard one, because we human beings don’t like others being in control, right?
That’s the challenge that Jesus lays down in the Gospel today. Will we hear His words and follow, or will we focus on our own ability, our own intellect, our own will, and turn our backs on Him? Maybe this Lent has not been what you had hoped. Maybe you’ve not felt yourself drawing closer to God like you know you should. I understand that feeling! I say to you, “Don’t lose heart!” Jesus never stops calling us to Him no matter how many times we stray or turn away. Use these last days of Lent to begin anew if you need to, and ask Jesus to help you to be humble of heart, and to follow His call for you.
May you and I be those who are “pleasing to Him”, and may our actions help others to “come to believe” in Him, and know that they, too, are blessed sons and daughters of God, and that they have the same dignity as one of God’s redeemed people. May we help everyone we meet (even those who are hard to love) to be ready for the banquet in heaven that never ends!
Action for the Day:
Are you finding this Lent slipping away? Take time right now (if you can) and ask God to show you how to seek Him and how to quiet your mind and heart to hear His voice. Ask Him, “Lord, make me Your instrument, and may Your love touch another through me today!”
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