Word to the Wise
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 - 5th Week of Lent - Tues
[Num 21:4-9 and John 8:21-30]"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.
The "discourse" that follows the incident of the woman caught in adultery seems to focus on judgment and Old Testament fulfillment. The words quoted above about being "lifted up" refer back to an earlier reference in the discourse following the meeting with Nicodemus (John 3:14-15) where Jesus says, "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes in him might have eternal life." Today's first scripture from the Book of Numbers relates that story. In the Gospel of John, the crucifixion of Jesus is his "being lifted up." This brings about the moment of judgment - the moment of faith. For the Jewish audience, the references to Moses and to Abraham as being spiritual ancestors to this Galilean preacher could be unsettling! He further disturbs them by his "dualities" such as "I am from above, you are from below..." and "I am not of this world, you are of this world...."
In reading all of these things, it is important for us to remember that the Gospel of John deals not simply with EVENTS but with their INTERPRETATION. By the time this gospel was put into writing (ca. 90-110 A.D.), the Christian community had been reflecting on and preaching about the life and death of Jesus and its meaning for nearly 60 years. Therefore this gospel seems to be more selective about how much detail of Jesus' life to include. There is far more meditation on the meaning of certain occurrences than we find in the other three gospels. Certain themes like "judgment" and the identity of Jesus in terms of the expression, I AM... are emphasized. Since the gospels are a form of preaching in themselves, the Gospel of John represents a fairly sophisticated reflection on the meaning of Jesus' preaching, his death and his resurrection. At times it seems overly abstract and repetitive, but this may be due to the fact that more than one hand may have been involved in the writing and the materials may have overlapped.
With all of this in hand and in mind, the Gospel of John offers us the opportunity to enter into the "mystery" of Jesus' mission in Holy Week. We can do this simply at the level of events - the entry into Jerusalem, the last supper, the garden of Gethsemani, the trial, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the appearances. But we are dealing with more than history here. Why are these events important and why do we, by preaching the Gospel, continue to believe these events are "saving events?" Much remains for our meditation in the days ahead, but the invitation is already on the table to join the journey. Do we accept or not? AMEN
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