In today’s Gospel, the Jewish people are questioning Jesus’ identity. They are also questioning their faith leaders, wondering if they know something they aren’t admitting? They conclude that everyone knows where Jesus is from, so He can’t be the Messiah.
Then Jesus addresses their thoughts, their questions. Even though it is dangerous for Him to be seen in public, He raises his voice, He wants to be heard. And they must have been shocked because he starts out by agreeing with them. “You know me and also know where I am from.” Jesus doesn’t argue their point, but then He redirects them from this world to the next. “Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
Isn’t this exactly what we need to hear today? Our society has been called post-Christian. A post-Christian society is one where Christianity is no longer the dominant religion. There is a collective focus on doing what makes you happy. There is a recognition of Christian ideas but a rejection of Christian ethics or worldview. Everyone says they have already heard of Jesus and think they know Him so they don’t need the Church.
Jesus tosses all of that thinking aside. “You say you know me, but I do not come on my own.” In this statement, Jesus sets himself apart from any other leader or prophet. He is not the latest in a line of prophets, he is not a new political or military king, he is not simply a new leader for the Jewish faith. Jesus’ life is so profound that all of human time is divided into what happened prior to or after His birth.
This is the radical faith the world needs today. A faith so definitive it is marked in time. We can’t be Sunday followers who leave our faith at the door (or the parking lot) as we leave Church on Sunday. Jesus calls for us to do more than just know Him. Don’t those around us need to see a vibrant living faith? One which embraces sacrifice and putting others first?
Lent is difficult. It’s supposed to be. This is our annual faith boot camp where we hone our discipline and sharpen our ability to say no to this world in order to make room for the things of the next world. There is no doubt that keeping Lent is made more difficult by a post-Christian culture that doesn’t value sacrifice or the idea of fasting or abstinence as a means of curbing our physical appetites for a greater good. Even in this time with rising secularism, nationalism or other worldviews, living like Jesus makes an impact. We can acknowledge the questions, but we truly answer when our lives point, like Jesus, to a greater good, the Goodness of God.
Daily Reading
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Reading 1 Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready…
Saint of the Day
Saint Mary Cleophas
Saint Mary Cleophas was one of the “three Marys” who followed Our Lord and stood at the foot of the Cross on Calvary and who went to the tomb.
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