Lenten Journey, March 20, 2010

Lord, guide us in your gentle mercy, for left to ourselves we cannot do your will.
Jn 7:40-53Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,“This is truly the Prophet.”Others said, “This is the Christ.”But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s familyand come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.Some of them even wanted to arrest him,but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears himand finds out what he is doing?”They answered and said to him,“You are not from Galilee also, are you?Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”Then each went to his own house.

Do you ever feel under attack? The attacks may be like those posed by some in the crowd against Jesus – questioning your credibility and worth. In the gospel story we don’t hear Jesus speak, nor do we even hear here what Jesus is thinking about this debate in the crowd. No doubt Jesus saw the guards assigned to take him, perhaps lurking around the edges of the crowd arguing amongst themselves. If you are feeling under attack, consider reflecting on the story from the perspective of Jesus sensing the threat of attacks, but yet also seeing that in spite of that there are some who recognize worth in his teaching and some of these are even willing to speak up on his behalf.
Perhaps you can relate to those in the crowd who spoke highly of Jesus only to be criticized by others. Or, perhaps you can relate to the guards who recognized that Jesus spoke a different kind of wisdom and refused to comply with the orders of the chief priests and Pharisees and then were ridiculed for it. What about the teachings of Jesus makes you confident to say that he is a Prophet or the Christ? In a room full of detractors, what gives you the motivation and courage to speak up like Nicodemus to question the group-think assumptions in the room?

The conflict around Jesus grows. And all the while, we are turning to God for mercy. What Jesus went through is for us, that we might have mercy and the gift of everlasting life.

May we keep our bodies pure, as temples of the Holy Spirit. May we offer ourselves this day to the service of others, and do your will in all things throughout the day. Teach us to seek the bread of everlasting life, the bread that is your gift. Amen