Word to the Wise
Friday, March 22, 2024 - 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,"...If I do not not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." [John]
Today's gospel scripture is the conclusion of the dramatic scene in which Jesus proclaims himself "the Son of God." The Jewish authorities were ready to stone him or arrest him, but they do not succeed. Jesus' words, "the Father is in me and I am in the Father..." will receive greater emphasis in the Last Supper discourse, in the prayer of Jesus on behalf of all disciples: "I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." [John 17:20]
What Jesus offers us is a participation in his relationship with his Father. It is through faith in him as the one whom the Father has sent that we have this participation which is reinforced by the continual presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The audience in today's gospel scripture as well as the "world" today is confronted with an incredible truth. It was a terrible irony that the audience, who believed in God, could not believe that God could be "made flesh and dwell among us." [John 1:14] The events of Holy Week will challenge us to a journey of faith from the gate of Jerusalem to the empty tomb. Are we participants or are we mere spectators? AMEN