ARE WE STILL HUMAN?

A reading from the holy gospel according to John (10, 22-30)

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’ This is the word of the Lord.

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At the beginning of today’s gospel selection, John gave us the exact time when this meeting of Jesus with the Jews took place. John mentions the festival of the Dedication of the temple of Jerusalem, a week-long celebration which culminated on the 25th day of the Jewish month called Chislev. If this feast falls in December or late November, why did John make it a point that it was winter? I don’t think it was the winter season he had in mind, but the atmosphere surrounding Jesus and his mission. It is like when during the Last Supper John tells us that when Judas received the piece of blessed bread from Jesus, he immediately went out. And it was night (Jn 13, 30). It was night because Judas left the group led by Jesus and went on to betray him, handing him to his enemies.

John stresses that it was winter. Cold and darkness were gathering around Jesus, and he knew it. In Chapter 9 John recalled the healing of the man born blind. On being healed, he was led to the Pharisees and an inquisition was held and they asked him who, how, and when he was healed. People were afraid, because whoever spoke favourably of Jesus, was expelled from the Synagogue. When asked about his opinion regarding Jesus, the blind man answered that he considered him a prophet, a man from God, for, he said, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (Jn 9, 32-33). The man who was born blind and who now could see, was driven out of the Synagogue.

From this we can understand another thing. The Jews gathered around Jesus and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly“. John did not tell us that they wanted to know in order to believe. In fact they only wanted to have enough reason to justify his killing and make it seem lawful. Following today’s selection, we read that the Jews wanted to stone him. Jesus said to them, “For which of the many good works I did are you going to stone me?” They answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God”. Jesus had given enough proof of his divine power, but did not refrain from saying loud and clear: “The Father and I are one”. The Jews would have liked to kill him there and then, they could not. Jesus himself said: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again” (Jn 10, 17-18).

As I meditate on this trap laid down by the Jews, who did not want to see and did not want to believe, not to run the risk of having to change their life-style, it seems to me that I hear echoes of the words of the Jews in many of today’s people. In order to justify their unbelief, people argue that, if God really existed he would have stopped the wars, the injustice, poverty and suffering that we see all around us. They argue that if these things still happen, it is because he is not almighty, not loving, that perhaps he could not care less, and so he is not a God. It seems to me that this type of thinking argues against us, for it reflects our way of doing things.

Jesus would surely answer as he did the Jews: “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep”. God still works miracles, but we need to have to open our eyes to see them. And then he gave us a recipe that could end wars, enmities, injustice and all sorts of bad things done by man, if we care to listen. This recipe still works.

Jesus told a lawyer, who was a Pharisee, that the greatest comandment of all is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 22, 37-39). And he told the crowds: “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Lk 6, 27-31). Some would say that these are difficult words, it is not an easy recipe for peace. I would tell these people to ask those who are suffering in war-torn countries, those who lost everything because of war, corruption, injustice. If you can, ask those who preferred to take the risk and drowned while crossing the Mediterranean in the hope of finding a safe place where to live.

Christ’s recipe for peace and justice and truth has been and is being repeated again and again by Pope after Pope. Who listened to Pope Pius XII and his appeals and work for peace before World War II? Who is paying attention to the efforts of Pope Francis to stop the third world war being fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction...

In his homily during the celebration at the military memorial in Redipuglia, in Italy, on September 13, 2014, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, Pope Francis said: “After experiencing the beauty of travelling throughout this region, where men and women work and raise their families, where children play and the elderly dream... I now find myself here, in this place, near this cemetery, able to say only one thing: War is madness. ... War is irrational ... Greed, intolerance, the lust for power.... These motives underlie the decision to go to war.” Who is listening to the Pope?

Some may say that there is no God for there is no peace on earth. May I ask: Are we still human?

TheWORD - 24 april 2018