Reading I
Jer 11:18-20
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.
Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
“Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more.”
But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!
Gospel
Jn 7:40-53
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
“This is truly the Prophet.”
Others said, “This is the Christ.”
But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?”
The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.”
So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.”
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
“Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?”
They answered and said to him,
“You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Then each went to his own house.
Meditation: John 7:40-53
Imagine the scene: a large crowd in Jerusalem, packing the streets, for the Festival of Tabernacles.
The people have heard of this man, Jesus, who teaches with authority and cures the sick. Then they hear him speaking and are spellbound. Surely this man is a prophet—or maybe even the Messiah.
But he is from Galilee. The Messiah is to come from Bethlehem, the city of David. Suddenly people are arguing, and they separate into two camps: those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah—the one from whom rivers of living water flow (John 7:38)—and those who think he couldn’t possibly be the Messiah because his background doesn’t square with the Scriptures.
We would expect that Jesus’ coming would usher in a time of peace, and yet there is division in the crowd, foreshadowing the divisions that will occur after his death and resurrection between those who believe in him and those who don’t (John 7:43). But we shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus himself said that he came “to bring not peace but the sword … to set a man against his father and a daughter against his mother” (Matthew 10:34,35).
The fact is, we can’t remain indifferent to Jesus. We can’t ignore or make light of his words and deeds. He makes amazing claims about who he is and what his Father has sent him to do. As the guards tell the Pharisees, “Never before has anyone spoken like this one” (John 7:46). Do we believe him or not? We have to choose.
And when we do choose to believe in Jesus, we should not be surprised if some oppose us. It may even be members of our family, who feel uncomfortable with our beliefs; or our co-workers, who wonder why we live and act as we do. Some may even dislike or ridicule us for being Christian.
Yet Jesus loves everyone, even those who reject him. And if he loves them, so should we. Who knows? Maybe our love will help them choose to follow him. Stranger—and more wonderful—things have happened before. And we can be sure that God wants them to happen again!
“Jesus, I choose to follow you. Help me to love even those who reject you. May I be a reflection of your light to them.”
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