DAILY GRACE
April 3, 2020, Friday in the Fifth Week of Lent
Hello Everyone,
We have been meditating on sections from John’s Gospel since I began this “Daily Grace” series. We will continue to do so right up through Easter. John’s Gospel was written in a highly-charged context. At the time of the Gospel’s writing, Jewish Christians had been ostracized by the larger community to the point of being excluded from synagogues. There were strong arguments and strong feelings between these Jewish Christians and the larger Jewish community from which they had been thrust out. John’s Gospel reflects it. If you have been following along with these email devotionals, you may have been troubled by the harshness of tone in some of the scripture readings. Today’s reading again reveals the tension.
Wishing you all health and peace in the Lord,
Pastor Dave
Scripture: John 10:31-42
The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews 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 answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ —and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Meditation
“[M]any believed in him there.”
Today’s Gospel begins to prepare us for the momentous events of Good Friday, one week from today. It describes what happened when some people picked up rocks to stone Jesus. He pointed out that he had shown them many good works from the Father and asked, “For which of these are you going to stone me?” They answered that it was because “you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Although they had seen the signs he worked, they did not believe. The people whom John describes at the end of today’s reading, instead, began to believe in him. What a contrast: unbelief and belief!
We have received the gift of faith, through which we believe all that God has revealed. How does our faith affect our daily living during this time of crisis? For example, we believe that God loves us unconditionally. Does this belief enkindle trust in his provident care for us and for those we love?
Faith grows with use — and this time of crisis presents us with many opportunities. When we wrestle with the growing pandemic and its wider repercussions, it can sometimes be hard to believe. We may even be tempted to stop praying, but that is exactly what we need to continue.
In our Gospel today, Jesus tries to reason with those who want to stone him, to help them recognize the truth: to have faith. He is willing to do the same for us. Let us go to Him, asking Him for the answers we need and for His help. He will not disappoint us. Although it may seem that solutions to this crisis elude us, we will gradually see God’s hand at work through progress made in clinical trials, an eventual vaccination, and economic recovery. We will also through because of our collective suffering, grow in grace, strength, and unity of purpose and resolve. Little by little, I hope and I trust, our life will become more deeply founded on faith. Let us pray: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.
Prayer
As I reflect on today’s Gospel, Lord, I realize how shaky my faith sometimes is, yet I want to believe deeply. Perhaps part of the reason is that I don’t think about the truths that you have revealed until something goes wrong. It is true that I can zip — and sometimes drag — through life without a thought as to why I am living. I don’t even recognize your hand in my day. Lord, I do believe, but please help my unbelief. Increase my faith and help me live from it today. Amen.
Contemplation
Today I am called to believe.