Word to the Wise
Friday, March 31, 2023 - 5th Week of Lent - Fri
[Jer 20:10-13 and John 10:31-42]"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? [John]
The Gospel According to John has a distinctly adversarial tone and uses juridical images of judgment and testimony. Scripture scholars tell us that this reflects the situation of the community for which the gospel was originally intended. Those Jews who accepted Jesus were being expelled from synagogues. [cf, John 9:22]. In the passage for today's Mass, Jesus is threatened with stoning for blasphemy. To an orthodox Jew, no human could be God! The dialogue reflects the arguments that were going on. Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 in which God is quoted as calling humans "gods." This was good rabbinical debate, but the ultimate result was more than stoning for blasphemy. It ultimately meant death on the cross for Jesus and eventually expulsion from the synagogues for those who believed in him.
As we approach Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, our own faith in Jesus as the one who God has "consecrated and sent into the world" will be challenged to enter into his path and destiny. Is he who he says he is? If so, the cross is also ours to bear and his resurrection ours to share. AMEN