Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 4th Week of Lent - Sat
[Jer 11:18-20 and John 7:40-53]"I knew their plot because the Lord informed me; at that time you, O Lord, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to the slaughter had not realized that they were hatching plots against me....." [Jeremiah]
One of the common questions one hears in political investigations or in trials of political figures is, "What did he know, and when did he know it?" The Gospel According to John makes it clear that Jesus knew of the plotting. What we get in the gospel scripture today is an example of the discussions that were going on. Nicodemus (cf. chapter 3) makes an appearance and seems more convinced than he was earlier about Jesus. The plotters ("authorities and Pharisees")advance the argument that Jesus' origins disqualify him from being "a prophet." They actually try to arrest him but the guards return saying, "Never before as anyone spoken like this man!" The frustration and determination of the plotters will increase and they will find a willing collaborator in Judas.
This is all part of the drama leading up to Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Jesus will be entering Jerusalem ceremoniously then, but he has already earned the hostility of the religious authorities.
The challenge for all of us at this time is to decide if we are going to be detached observers of an old story or participants in the drama of Jesus' life and actions on our behalf? Which one will each of us be? AMEN