The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider our preparation for persecution and our willingness to go the distance on Jesus Way.
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| Go the distance |
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah denounces his persecutors.
* [20:7] You seduced me: Jeremiah accuses the Lord of having deceived him; cf. 15:18.1
Psalm 18 is, in essence, a report of divine rescue.
* [Psalm 18] A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22. Thanksgiving Psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The Psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Ps 18:5–20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Ps 18:36–46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Ps 18:2–4, 32–36) and conclusion (Ps 18:21–31, 47–50).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus exhorts us to believe in His works.
* [10:41] Performed no sign: this is to stress the inferior role of John the Baptist. The Transjordan topography recalls the great witness of John the Baptist to Jesus, as opposed to the hostility of the authorities in Jerusalem.3
Eileen Burke-Sullivan presents questions that name some of the anxiety that lives within so many of us. To whom or what can we turn to find hope and have confidence that Goodness will prevail?... the Pharisees, Sadducees and other leaders of the religious establishment. Those leaders have an interpretation of God’s word that keeps them in power by causing a deep fear of God in the people. They promote an image of God that is harsh and judgmental (or even indifferent to suffering) so that they can wield the power of judgment upon their fellow believers. When even the religious establishment has been co-opted by violence, oppression and the self-aggrandizement of those who are supposed to be servants, not overlords, where do those who want to believe, who want to find joy in life turn for hope?
During these last days in Lent, we who are Christians must turn to the Cross for hope. It is there that we see the image of our God who will suffer for and with us. An image of a God who does not shore up the hegemony of violence but brings mercy for all by placing his own life on the line. If your image of God gives you no hope in this world it is important to pray to know the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jesus. Don’t let cultural stereotypes of bolts of lightning striking you down. Don’t let images of a God who condemns stand in your way of coming to the Cross and seeing the truth of “Love Alone” stretched between heaven and earth.4
Don Schwager quotes “The sacrifice of Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Even though the man Christ Jesus, in the form of God together with the Father with whom He is one God, accepts our sacrifice, nonetheless He has chosen in the form of a servant to be the sacrifice rather than to accept it. Therefore, He is the priest Himself Who presents the offering, and He Himself is what is offered." (excerpt from City of God, 10,20)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 10:31-42 declares Jesus wants his works to speak to us as well. Now we are probably familiar with the stories about Jesus and the impressive miracles he worked in the Bible. But make no mistake, he is still working today.
So ask the Holy Spirit to help you recognize these works. You might notice a recent widow in your parish who is able to find joy after her husband has passed away. Or maybe you’ll realize your neighbor has been patiently caring for his wife for months without complaint. You might even find yourself in financial need and receive a welcome bonus.
These moments of grace come from God’s hands. The more of them you see for what they are, the more you will believe, especially when times of doubt or anxiety make your faith feel shaky. Set your eyes on Jesus—both on what he has done in the past and what he is doing right now. Believe too that he wants to work just as patiently in your life. If he kept trying to convince his “enemies,” why wouldn’t he work just as hard to help you know him better?
“Jesus, you bring miracles to life around me. Open my eyes to see your works and believe in you.”6
Friar Jude Winkler explains Jeremiah's confessions and his confrontation with God. Clever dialog in the first century was seen as reflection of the Wisdom of God. Friar Jude reminds us how the truth of John the Baptist about Jesus was revealed in the Transjordan region.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments Jesus did not once tell us to worship him; he only told us to follow him on the necessary three-day journey that Christians celebrate during Holy Week. And “three days” did not necessarily mean Friday to Sunday. It is a classic initiatory phrase for going the distance or the full cycle. The transformational journey of death and resurrection is the only—and always denied—message. It really is the way we are saved.
The genius of ancestors who practiced initiation ceremonies is that they exposed and revealed the truth about pain in a sacred space, which makes all the difference in the world. Now pain is no longer a scary unknown, an unfortunate mistake, something we must change, but maybe an entranceway! As Eckhart Tolle says, “You do not need to be a Christian to understand the deep universal truth that is contained in symbolic form in the image of the cross.” [1] Before such transformative images, the worst things can become the best things.
The initiation instinct realized that facing one’s death was the ultimate encounter with the sacred. Walking through one’s fear of the last thing becomes an encounter with the first thing. A person is then free to live, often for the first time outside of their head or their fear. Death encounters seem to be the primary way to build or rebuild a real life. Then life itself, in all its depth and beauty, becomes the unquestionable gift.7
The works of Jesus reveal His identity and as we go the distance with Him, the meaning of our life becomes clearer in following Him.
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