May 22, 2019
Holy Wisdom Chapel
1Peter 2:18-25, Ac 7:30-37,44-49, Jn 7:11-29
There were a
lot of opinions about who Jesus really was. Some whispered that he was a “good
man”. While true, that was not all Jesus was.
Some were convinced he was a prophet, a forth-teller of the will of God.
Jesus was so close to God, being one with God, that he knew God’s mind and
purposes. The difference between a
prophet and Jesus was that a prophet would say; “Thus says the Lord”, whereas
Jesus would say, “I say to you”.
Some thought
Jesus was a deluded madman. Indeed he was mad enough to turn the world’s
standards upside down. He chose a cross when he might have had power and esteem.
He was the suffering servant when he might have been the conquering king. He
washed the feet of his disciples when he might have had people kneeling at his
feet. He came to serve and save when he could have subjected the world to
servitude.
Some thought
Jesus was a seducer. Most of the authorities saw in him one who was leading the
people away from true religion. He was breaking all their sacrosanct laws. He
was breaking the Sabbath, he was a drunkard and a glutton, he defiled himself
by associating with sinners of all kinds. They saw him as destroying orthodox
religion and if people believed his idea of religion over theirs - well! how
could it be that they were wrong?!! So they hated him.
Some
experienced Jesus as having a dynamic personality. The verdict of the soldiers
sent to arrest him was that they had never heard anyone who spoke as Jesus did.
From Jesus flowed a power that sent those dispatched to arrest him back to the
authorities in empty -handed bewilderment.
Some saw
Jesus as a man of courage. He had the courage to defy mistaken conventions and
encourage behavior more pleasing to his Father. He entered Jerusalem knowing it
was entering a lion’s den and would lead to his enduring terrible physical pain
and mental anguish. He had the courage to go on when even most of his family
abandoned him, his beloved disciples fled in fear and one of his own circle
betrayed him.
Then there
were those who saw Jesus as Christ, the Anointed one of God. Jesus was truly
the Wisdom of God.
There was amazement
at how Jesus could expound an understanding of scripture when they thought him
uneducated. Jesus assured them time and again that he did not speak on his own
but the Father commanded him what he was to say. Jn 14:10.
How do we
learn what to say and what to do? A person willing to do God’s will, will come
to understand. It is a common belief that God is only found in the
extraordinary. The teaching of Christianity is just the opposite. If God is in
the world only in the unusual, God would rarely be found. We have come to
understand that God is present in all of creation. The Spirit of Jesus is with
us at all times helping us to discern how to learn from the everyday happenings
of our life’s journey. Whatever actions we take, need to be guided by taking
time to reflect, to ponder if how we are living is a reflection of God’s love,
both towards our own selves and towards others. Saint Augustine was supposed to
have said, “Love God and do what you will”.
If one is truly loving God, one will want to do what pleases God. The
motivation for any and all of our actions is what God sees. Joy and peace will
come to us when we come to see God present everywhere enabling all our actions to
be what we think will please God.
