Errors and Unbelief

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to assess the assertions and programs that may lead us away from truth, goodness and compassion.

Look to Our Foundations

The reading from the Book of Wisdom declares the Error of the Wicked.

* [2:1–20] In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 34 offers praise for Deliverance from Trouble.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents the Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers and at the Festival of Booths the question “Is This the Christ?”

*  [7:14–31] Jesus teaches in the temple; debate with the Jews.

* [7:26] The authorities: the members of the Sanhedrin (same term as Jn 3:1). (John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Tamora Whitney comments that the wicked are threatened by the righteous and need to get rid of them in order to continue their own wicked ways unperturbed.

But the Lord hears the cries of the poor and confronts the evildoers. The wicked say if the righteous are right, then God will save them. And God does. The wicked may succeed here. And often do. There is evil and it always tries to do away with the good. Jesus says that he is from God and follows God, “the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." The bad guys are wrong, but they can be powerful and in charge. Their plans to do away with the good can be strong. But whatever success they have does not make them right. Getting rid of the good does not make the wrong right. The right path is still the path of the good, the path that leads to God. (Whitney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ our physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-3 comments that we are now at a point during Lent when the plot quickens, and our readings begin to point toward the cross. Jesus has already revealed himself as the Messiah. But many in authority not only fail to welcome his light, but they actively seek to extinguish it. Now every time Jesus openly announces himself, his very life is in danger.

Do you ever feel as if you’re stumbling in the darkness? Jesus is crying out to you! He is calling you by name so that you can come out of the darkness into the light of his love. So listen to his voice. Don’t run away or snuff out his light! Welcome him, come close to him, and allow him to bring his light into your heart.

“Lord Jesus, I hear you calling me. Come, shine your light in me.” (Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-3, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Book of Wisdom, written in and influenced by Greek language and philosophy, is not included in the Jewish or Protestant Canon. The recompense of the hidden counsel of God and an afterlife (a later development in Jewish theology) is presented. Friar Jude notes that John observes those that think in earthly ways cannot understand the signs that point to a spiritual reality of healing and forgiveness.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, turns to Scripture and contemplation in the face of collective suffering. If contemplation means anything, it means that we can “safeguard that little piece of You, God,” as Etty Hillesum describes. What other power do we have now? All else is tearing us apart, inside and out. We cannot abide in such a place for any length of time or it will become our prison.

God cannot abide with us in a place of fear. 

God cannot abide with us in a place of ill will or hatred. 

God cannot abide with us inside a nonstop volley of claim and counterclaim. 

God cannot abide with us in an endless flow of online punditry and analysis. 

God cannot speak inside of so much angry noise and conscious deceit. 

God cannot be born except in a womb of Love. 

So offer God that womb. 

Contemplation can help stand watch at the door of your senses, so chaos cannot make its way into your soul. If we allow it for too long, it will become who we are, and we’ll no longer have natural access to the life-giving “really deep well” that Etty Hillesum returned to so often to find freedom. 

In this time, I suggest some form of public service, volunteerism, mystical reading from the masters, prayer—or, preferably, all of the above. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we are confronted daily by claims and actions that challenge our call to live in Jesus’ Way.

References

John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/7?1 

Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-3. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/04/04/1240483/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?17 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-deep-well-within/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). His Hour Had Not yet Come. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=apr4 

Whitney, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/040425.html 

Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/2?1 

Error and Ignorance

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to learn from our life experience and the guidance of the Spirit in the Word about the path we are invited to follow to fullness of life.

Path of Wisdom

The reading from the Book of Wisdom, outlines the errors of the wicked.

* [2:1–20] In this speech the wicked deny survival after death and indeed invite death by their evil deeds.

* [2:12–5:23] From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12–20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 34 offers praise for Deliverance from Trouble.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John the people ask “Is This the Christ?”

* [7:14–31] Jesus teaches in the temple; debate with the Jews.

* [7:26] The authorities: the members of the Sanhedrin (same term as Jn 3:1). (John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Martha Slocombe opens the  Bible and reads John 7. It wasn't just what Jesus did but also the words he spoke that transformed those in his sphere. Jesus used his words to claim his identity as sent by God and being from God, even in the midst of peril.

Over two-thousand years later, we still hear Jesus' words, we read them, we pray with them, we live by them, and we are transformed by them. I think back to the time in middle school when I was struggling and unsure where to turn, and I flipped open my Bible to read the scripture in front of me. Something in those words of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within me completely changed how I saw the situation. In such a profound way, the words of scripture – the Word of God – made me different from then on out: at peace in the midst of my difficulty. I was transformed in a way that I cannot fully explain, yet I come back to this place time and time again, where the fog dissipates and I can breathe in God's word. 

When have the words of God filled you and changed you and made you see the world in a whole new way? (Slocombe, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ our physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 comments that our deepest identity comes from God your Father. He created us, and by virtue of our Baptism, we have become his son or daughter. Like Jesus, that should be the focal point around which everything else in our life revolves.

Being deeply grounded in our identity as God’s son or daughter will change us. It will affect what we choose to do with our time and energy. It will move us to pray and celebrate the sacraments. It will influence the way we relate to people and the way in which we speak to them. It will make us more aware of the needs of the poor. And it will give our lives purpose and meaning—because like Jesus, we, too, have been sent to proclaim the good news of God’s merciful love.

What an honor it is to be called a son or daughter of God! 

“Father, help me to live out my identity in you.” (Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the Book of Wisdom as the last book of the Hebrew Testament, written in Greek, that presents Jewish Wisdom as great as Greek Wisdom. The good person in silence, by his life, condemns evil and selfish people. Friar Jude reminds us of the agricultural history of the feast that Jesus attends in the Gospel of John and that He indicates to the people that He comes not from Galilee, but from God the Father.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us of our deepest Reality in God, which we cannot access except by facing our lived realities. James Finley says, “The greatest teacher of God’s presence in our life is our life.

” For some reason, it is easier to attend church services than quite simply to reverence the Real—the “practice of the presence of God,” as some saints have called it. Making this commitment doesn’t demand a lot of dogmatic wrangling or managerial support, just vigilance, desire, and willingness to begin again and again. Living and accepting our reality will not feel very spiritual. It will feel like we are on the edges rather than dealing with the essence. That’s why many run toward more esoteric and dramatic postures instead of bearing the mystery of God’s suffering and God’s joy inside themselves. But the edges of our lives—fully experienced, suffered, and enjoyed—lead us back to the center and the essence, which is Love. (Rohr, 2009)

We invoke the Wisdom of the Spirit to enlighten us about the errors that lead us away from applying the Word of God to the everyday events on our journey to full life.

References

John, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/7?1 

Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/03/15/913306/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?17 

Rohr, R. (2009, June 3). Facing Reality. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/facing-reality/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). His Hour Had Not yet Come. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=mar15 

Slocombe, M. (2024, March 15). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/031524.html 

Wisdom, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 15, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/2?1 

Errors in Understanding

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to critically assess the understanding we have of the path necessary to grow in fullness of life.

Signs of Change

The reading from the Book of Wisdom describes the error of the wicked.

* [2:12–5:23] From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts. The description of the “righteous one” in 2:12–20 seems to undergird the New Testament passion narrative. (Wisdom, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)

Psalm 34 is praise for Deliverance from Trouble.

* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 34, n.d.)

The Gospel of John describes the unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers and questions at the Festival of Booths about “is this the Christ?”

* [7:1–8] These chapters contain events about the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth, Ingathering: Ex 23:16; Tents, Booths: Dt 16:13–16), with its symbols of booths (originally built to shelter harvesters), rain (water from Siloam poured on the temple altar), and lights (illumination of the four torches in the Court of the Women). They continue the theme of the replacement of feasts (Passover, Jn 2:13; 6:4; Hanukkah, Jn 10:22; Pentecost, Jn 5:1), here accomplished by Jesus as the Living Water. These chapters comprise seven miscellaneous controversies and dialogues. There is a literary inclusion with Jesus in hiding in Jn 7:4, 10; 8:59. There are frequent references to attempts on his life: Jn 7:1, 13, 19, 25, 30, 32, 44; 8:37, 40, 59.

* [7:3] Brothers: these relatives (cf. Jn 2:12 and see note on Mk 6:3) are never portrayed as disciples until after the resurrection (Acts 1:14). Mt 13:55 and Mk 6:3 give the names of four of them. Jesus has already performed works/signs in Judea; cf. Jn 2:23; 3:2; 4:45; 5:8. (John, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Larry Gillick, S.J. (in 2020) comments that Jesus, for the religious leaders of His time, was an inconvenience, a pain in the foot and a bother especially as He challenged His hearers. They centered their relationship with God around their receiving approval for their actions. Jesus' basic message, “teaching” was about who they were in the eyes of the One Who sent Him and not who they were in their own eyes.

I listen to a large number of spiritual and prayerful persons who just want to be “better”. Everything that is important to them about themselves, their prayer, their relationships, their ministries, “better”. I do not recall Jesus using this exact word or anything like it. We can spend all of Lent, make our entire life a Lenten exercise of self-improvement and never seem to be, or act or feel better, but probably worse. This is in no way healthy, spiritual nor religious. When I have tried, lived this way I have discovered behind it all a very excited and active ego pumping as fast as it could. “Better” seems to be religious, but the closer we allow Jesus to get to us, the lesser it seems important to judge my personal progress. “Deeper” seems to be His invitation and we’ll never be able to measure that either. (Gillick, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Christ our physician,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 comments that we don’t realize that God stands ready to welcome us instead of angrily waiting for our next misstep. That’s why we sometimes avoid the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But that’s where we come face-to-face with the God who saves and redeems us. We see that he doesn’t keep a list of our sins but freely offers us forgiveness and peace. We encounter the surprising, life-changing compassion of God. We experience a mercy so filled with love that it doesn’t just forgive our sins; it changes our hearts.

So go ahead and look for a chance to go to Confession before Lent is over. Approach your Father and let him show you his heart of mercy and love.

“Lord, I want to know your mercy and love!” (Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on how those living in Wisdom make obvious to the wicked how evil their choices are. The Divinity of Jesus is presented in the Gospel of John in His being in control of the decisions He makes about His life. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus is from the Father and we can know the Father through Him.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, draws on teachings from The Cloud of Unknowing, a fourteenth-century text on contemplative prayer, to describe the necessity of a “beginner’s mind”.

When the ego invests itself in its knowing, it is convinced that it has the whole picture. At that point, growth stops. The journey stops. Nothing new is going to happen to us after that point. The term we’re using here, “beginner’s mind,” comes from Buddhism. For Buddhists, it seems to refer to an urgent need to remain open, forever a student. A beginner’s mind always says, “I’m a learner. I’ve got more to learn.” It has to do with humility before reality, and never assuming that I understand. If there are fifty thousand levels of the mystery, maybe I’m at level forty-five. Maybe there’s more that needs to show itself to me. Can you imagine what a different world it would be if we all lived with that kind of humility? (Rohr, 2023)

We identify with our tendency to promote our plan for full life that may be driven by our ego and loyalty to our tribe rather than seeking openness to the humility offered by the Spirit.

References

Gillick, L. (2023, March 24). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032423.html 

John, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/7?1 

Meditation on John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/03/24/637420/ 

Psalms, PSALM 34. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/34?17 

Rohr, R. (2023, March 24). Entering the Cloud of Unknowing — Center for Action and Contemplation. Richard Rohr. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/entering-the-cloud-of-unknowing-2023-03-24/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). His Hour Had Not yet Come. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar24 

Wisdom, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/2?1