Friday of the
Fourth Week in Lent
(Wisdom 2:1a.12-22; John 7:1-2.10.25-30)
Perhaps all of us have had the experience of meeting
someone who said he was Jesus Christ. You
probably thought the person demented, and you were right. Yet Jesus said that he will return to judge
the living and the dead. It might be
more prudent, therefore, to listen at least a bit to one who makes the claim. In today’s gospel the real Jesus confronts
inhabitants of Jerusalem who too quickly dismiss him.
The Jerusalemites know that Jesus has brought about
incredible healings. They ask themselves
if he might be the long-expected Messiah but reject the idea out of hand because
they know his origins. They likely know
as well his “brothers” -- probably male relatives of Jesus – who are present
with him. If Jesus were the Messiah – they reason -- they
would not know anything about him. Of course,
Jesus is aware of both their thoughts and their mistake. He cries out to the effect that they do not
know that he comes from God, his Father.
He is also conscious that they cannot arrest him now because his Father
has not yet ordained the time for him to accomplish the work of salvation.
Our annual celebration of Jesus’ work of salvation is
close at hand. We are wise to plan our
time so that we might delve into the mysteries.
Holy Week should be an extensive period of reflection on how the Son of
God has saved us from sin.
