Word to the Wise
Wednesday, May 10, 2017 - 4th Week of Easter - Wed
[Acts 12:24-13:5a and John 12:44-50]WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017 ST. ANTONINUS OF FLORENCE O.P. [Acts 12:24 - 13:5a and John 12:44-50] "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness." [John] In the days after Easter, the lectionary focuses on the Gospel According to John (and the Acts of the Apostles). We have been slowly making our way through that gospel. Today's passage takes place just after Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and represents a kind of summary of his teaching in the previous chapters. (Not that the evangelist divided the text into chapters and verses - that came much, much, later!). However we can see in these words the major theme of "light and darkness" and the very basic teaching of this gospel: "Jesus is the one whom God has sent." When I was still a new priest in the early 1970's, while I was a law student and campus minister at Tulane, a high school student came to me for instruction to enter the church. At one point, I asked him, "Why are you doing this?" He responded, "I'm reaching for the light." I have never forgotten those words. The Gospel According to John presents Jesus to us as inviting us to reach for the light, to "see" Jesus as the one whom God has sent. It is a call to faith. Those of us who are "cradle Catholics" are called to "reset" our faith and see Jesus anew. In the days ahead the passages from the Gospel According to John will be taken from Jesus' words at the Last Supper. We will have the opportunity to "see" in a new way. AMEN