20-Mar-15

Gospel JN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.
But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.
Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.
Reflection:
The logical question we would expect from most people who read this gospel passage would be, "Why would Jesus go to Jerusalem when he knew people there were trying to kill him?"
The answer is he could not help but go because that is why he was sent to earth by the Father.
His whole existence was to spread the love of God to people who had been oppressed by the rule of religious law for generations.
His message to the people at the feast was clear: "I am from him, and he sent me."
Starting with the apostles, people have followed his example for centuries. Peter and Paul went to Rome, the very home of those who crucified Jesus. Both met the same fate: Death!
Missionaries have traveled to every part of the world to spread the Good News and many have forfeited their life, just as Jesus did.
Today, in our country, people may not be called to sacrifice their lives but still, we are called to sacrifice our time, our talent and our treasure to spread the love and hope of Christ.
We are called to pass on the message of Jesus' sacrifice and faith to our children, as our parents taught it to us. For our children are the ones who will carry the love of Christ to others in the future.
Recently, while on food deliveries I had two students on my van from Oliver Ames High School in Easton, volunteering for the first time with My Brother's Keeper.
Most of the families we served that day lived in very humble apartments, many on the third floor.
After completing food deliveries to nine families, I asked them, "So boys, what have you gotten from bringing food to these families today?"
There was a prolonged silence. Then one young man, Chris, answered, "It made me more grateful."
Silently, I thought, "Ahhhh, soon he'll be handing out a crucifix and saying, 'This is the man who sent you the furniture.'"
"Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6