Ezekiel 37:21-28,PSALM: Jeremiah 31: 10.11-12abcd. 13,
John 11:45-57 Full Readings
Jesus died to make us one people: Christians
Brethren, for the last few weeks of lent, the readings, especially the gospels, have presented to us a list of accusations to why the Jews killed Jesus. These accusations are very important for growth in our Christian life because, as Christians (followers of Christ) have to follow his footsteps and what happened to him can also happen to us. Knowing this makes us strong and courageous to face all the challenges involved in following Christ, knowing that we shall conquer as Jesus himself did. As far as this point, Jesus was killed due to the following accusations: breaking the rule of Sabbath by performing miracles and winning many people to him, going against the customs of the Jews and challenging their different political and authoritative systems, claiming that his power of doing miracles is from God, claiming to be the Son of God, and also to be equal with God, and the fear of the Jews that Romans would destroy their nation because of following Jesus. We shall hear others in the passion narratives of holy Week like claiming to be the king of Jews, breaking down the temple and rebuilding in three days and others. All these made the hostility of the Jews grow wild until they gained to courage and crucified Jesus.
As we start Holy Week tomorrow, it is important for us to start putting our focus on the suffering and death of Jesus. This is the time of year when God wants us to look intently at His Cross. It’s important to look at it from all angles, to try to understand what was going on, what Jesus was experiencing, what the disciples were experiencing and even what the Pharisees and high priests were experiencing. Let us take it as a high spiritual exercise.
In today’s Gospel, we see the thinking of Caiaphas, the high priest, that, it is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. His words are interesting in that they are both sad and prophetic at the same time. He, along with the other chief priests and the Pharisees, were now determined to plot Jesus’ death. They were no longer in fear of what the crowd and those who believed in him would say. This was because of their selfish reasons to protect their state at the expense of the truth which Jesus revealed to them. If they were interested in the truth they would have at least seen the divinity and the glory of God in the miracles he did. It's surprising that even doing miracles was one of the accusations laid upon him. They feared that Romans would put them to destruction if they would start believing in him, and so they had to eliminate him as he was seen as a threat.
In our daily life, the desire to protect one's fame, position, status, reputation is at its peak, and therefore, one can do anything possible even murdering a number of people to protect and secure himself and his reputation. This is done at the expense of truth and justice. As it was in Jesus' time, we see that people who rise up to stand for the truth, freedom and justice are either killed in cold war or even violently. As Christians, we should stand together and fight such injustices. This starts with the conversion of an individual and then to the whole society. We have to follow the example of Jesus who, with all those plots to kill him, had to stand for truth by challenging all their discriminating systems.
The prophecy of Caiphas was indeed very true, could we say that God spoke through him, that Jesus was to die for the whole world. We more that, according to the Gospel, Jesus was not only to die for the nation but also to bring in unity the scattered children of God. This is what the prophet Ezekiel in first Reading announced, God will gather all the people of Israel and bring them home, forgive and cleanse them from their wickedness and unfaithfulness, make them into one nation, his own and one king would reign over them, David, and will have one princes, and then the Lord will make an eternal covenant with them, and remain with them forever. Indeed Jesus by dying in the cross fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus would not have died just because of un standing accusations, there was something more to why Jesus died: to make us one people, who are now called Christians.
It is because of Jesus dying that we are called Christians; we have one king, who will be hailed tomorrow on his triumphant entry to Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church, his mystical body, and after the resurrection, who promised to be with us always (Mt 28:20), and who sent his Holy Spirit who dwells among us forever, as fulfilment of his promise. There is no need to worry as Christians, the Lord our King is always with us, present in our midst, when we pray, when we are gathered together, when in mass in the Eucharist and in the Eucharist minister, in his Word and when we sing (Sacrosanctum Concillium no. 7).
Then if Jesus is present among us what are we expected to do? To follow him promptly and especially in this coming Holy week as hostility of the Jews and Romans to Jesus is very much. We have to move with him, experience his pain and suffering as our King and withdraw strength from him to face our daily crosses and sufferings. We ask ourselves, What would I do if I was with Jesus during his trials, suffering, persecution and crucifixion? Would you continue to stand with Jesus despite the attacks from others? As the hostility towards Jesus grew, would you have moved back away from Him or moved closer to Him in love and commitment? Let's move with him during this coming week. Our goal is to find ourselves at the feet of the cross with him on good Friday, as we wait for the conquering of sin and death and receive new light in Christ.
Let's pray
That we may draw strength and inspiration from the suffering Lord, in this holy week in order to face our own suffering and persecution. Amen.
Blessed Holy Week.
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