Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10:31-42)
In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus cannot cure
the sick unless they believe in him. The
gospel of John sees his cures and other marvelous deeds differently. They are signs to induce belief in him as God’s
agent. In today’s passage from John the Jews
reject him despite the many signs he has worked.
As with Jeremiah in the first reading, the Jews have turned
their minds and hearts against Jesus. He
would gladly have the Father dwell in them as He does in himself. But, blinded by evil, they want to kill him.
Jesus will make the same offer to his disciples at the Last
Supper and now to us. If we follow his
ways, we will experience the Father’s bliss. It is the culmination of the spiritual
life. It begins here with the experience
of God’s joy, peace, and love. And it
reaches completion beyond death in the glory of the resurrection.
