Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
(Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47)
There is no end to people’s fascination with idols. Tabloid newspapers and even more
sophisticated media easily find consumers wanting to know more about LaBron
James or Lindsay Lohan. This fact is
amusing but it is also disturbing. Taken
up with these false gods, the public misses the real God. This is why Jesus sounds so frustrated in
today’s gospel.
Jewish authorities are hassling Jesus for having cured a
paralytic on the Sabbath. Jesus has defended
the action as a work of life that God continually performs every day of the
week. In today’s passage Jesus concludes
the argument. He says that if the
authorities really understood the Scriptures, with which they are accusing
Jesus of wrongdoing, they would recognize that they testify to his being from
God, not against God.
Looking toward Holy Week, we need to reaffirm who it is that
will command our attention. It is no
less than God’s eternal Son. His actions
-- and nothing we can produce nor knowledge we can have nor other person we can
know -- will give us our heart’s deepest desire.
