Word to the Wise
Friday, March 30, 2007 - Friday in the Fifth Week of Lent
[Jeremiah 20:10-13 and John 10:31-42]I hear the whisperings of many: "Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!" All those who were my friends are on the watch for any mistep of mine......"
Jeremiah is known to be the "reluctant prophet." He complains often about the difficulties of his role. In the passage for today's liturgy, he claims that everybody is out to get him. Although he sounds a bit paranoid, he was pretty much on target. He upset a lot of powerful people. In his personal soliloquy he expresses his belief that God is with him and that God will avenge him! Of course he is not beyond being somewhat violent in what he hopes God will do. Hmmmmm.....does he really sound all that different from modern day folks like us? The passage serves a broader purpose, however. It highlights the tension around Jesus as he comes to terms with those who oppose his preaching and are threatened by his ministry. This Sunday, the celebration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem serves as a kind of opening curtain on the final drama. The Christian community, in reflecting after Jesus' death about the facts and circumstances and meaning of it all, could see a similarity between Jesus and Jeremiah, just as they saw a similarity with the figure of the "Suffering Servant" in Deutero-Isaiah. Perhaps we might benefit from asking why Jesus' ministry and person created such tension and caused such a violent reaction. Faced with his accusations of hypocrisy and corruption, how would we have felt? This kind of reflection can help us to enter into the complete experience of Holy Week. It might also help us to understand that Jesus died for hypocrites and corrupt people, too! AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
83 ms
4
