SATURDAY, March 27 , 2010

 “Bring together the scattered children of God” John 11:45-57

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In this text, we see that what moves the members of the Sanhedrin is not religious jealousy.  What it really is, is fear, terror of losing the external means that serve as an excuse to oppress, control, and exploit the people.  There is fear - a valid dread - : “This Man works many miracles.  If we allow him continue to do this, everyone is going to believe in Him...”   It is really amazing how far we can go in letting ourselves be fooled, to the point of being capable of acts as vile as the death of an innocent person when it affects our interests.

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This is important in our lives, because similar situations do happen.  They happen when we hide behind religious or family principles, so as not to lose our position, our status within the group.  We must open our eyes and see, without hiding behind religious parapets, for surely what we do is against God, a product of spiritual blindness.

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This is the irony; the High Priest and the Council condemn Jesus to save the people, and at the same time, the people, the nation, the law and the temple are disqualified by Jesus' rejection.  And from this rejection comes a new reality, a new people revolving around Jesus.  Jesus takes precautions and does not allow himself to be captured, because his passion is an act of his own free will: “No one takes my life; I give it freely”.  Pressure increases and the environment becomes even more tense.

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Some look to Jesus to admire his works, and others, the Jewish authorities, to capture him.  God reverses the adversaries' bad intentions.  While they think that by killing Jesus, they will get rid of him, what they do is create the conditions for him to show his selfless love for his friends - the sign of God's love for the world. And so they allow this demonstration of perfect love to happen with full force.  Jesus will join the new people of God to him, that is, God’s covenant will be renewed once and for all. 

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REFLECTION.- “Inspired by their Charism, the sisters in a spirit of charity, obedience and simplicity encourage each other to carry out Bishop DUBUIS' vision of works of mercy in a manner which enhances human dignity and inspires hope in today's society.” (CCVI Constitutions No.39) What merciful acts are we encouraging to bring dignity to the lives of those we encounter daily?

Date: 26/Mar/2010