Lenten Journey 2011

God our Father, you always work to save us, and now we rejoice in the great love you give to your chosen people. Protect all who are about to become your children, and continue to bless those who are already baptized


John 11: 45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”

But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.

So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”

Humans, it seems, scatter and divide, while God gathers and unites. In the 2,000+ years since Jesus’ death, our history, like that of the ancient Israelites, has been one of division upon divisions –within families, nations, religions, within Christianity even – perhaps the most scandalous of all our divisions.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to do His will “on earth, as in heaven”. It’s very clear that God’s will is that his fractious human children should get together – become one. (Remember: unity does not mean uniformity.) Why are we so divisive? That’s not hard to figure out. It’s arrogance, pride, greed, and power lust. “I am right, and to the extent that you differ from me, you’re wrong. Sure, we can all get together! All you have to do is see it my way.” Power lust was what was behind the Jewish leaders’ opposition to Jesus in today’s Gospel reading.

As always, these are not just interesting historical footnotes. They apply very much to each of us, personally, today. Look around – in our parishes, in our diocese, in the larger church. Are there divisions? Do we contribute to them? If not, are we at least working to heal them? If my answer to the last of these is “no”, then how is it that I am manifesting God’s unifying vision?

There are only a few days left until we celebrate God’s victory on the cross. It’s time to take God’s plan seriously. Yes, only God can do it, but God chooses to do it through us.


Christ was sacrificed so that he could gather together
the scattered children of God.
John 11:52