Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Easter
[Acts 11:19-26 and John 10:22-30]"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep."
It can be really frustrating to be asked a very important question and know that no matter how one responds, the response will be misunderstood because of the attitudes, backgrounds, expectations, "agendas" or context of the questioner(s)! Almost any person in an important position of leadership has experienced this kind of frustration. The question(s) by nature are manipulative even if asked in good faith (not always the case!). In the case of Jesus, the expectations surrounding the belief in a "messiah" were complex and often political or nationalistic. Whatever they might be with any of the Pharisees, the expectations certainly did not include a carpenter from Nazareth who was making the claims that Jesus was making: "The Father and I are one!" They were not prepared to believe in the first place, so Jesus confronts them with their lack of faith which would not allow them to be open to the truth about him. If one were to read further, the questioners picked up stones to throw at him for blasphemy! By the time the Gospel of John was put into writing, positions on the subject of Jesus may well have begun to harden in the Jewish communities of which Christians were still a part. Before we point the finger at the potential rock-throwers, perhaps we might ask ourselves about our own understanding of the question. Can we accept his claim to be "one" with the Father? Are we truly members of the flock who listen to his voice? Are we "filtering out" parts of the message so as to create a Messiah of our own design? Do we follow the shepherd only as long as he is going in the direction we prefer and leave when the flock heads in a different direction? There are plenty of prominent examples of this from all parts of the Christian spectrum - "right" or "left" or just plain "eccentric!" The papal visit will provide lots of "entertainment" of this kind. One hopes that the "rocks" will be purely verbal! AMEN
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