Basic HTML Version
stoned. Jesus, a man, is making himself out to be God, and that is blasphemy.
Thus, Jesus must be stoned.
This isn˅t a mini-dramaˁit˅s more like a game of chess, played for stakes of life
and death. Jesus answers the Jews in kindˁnot by crying out for God˅s deliver-
ance, but by pointing out the flaw in their logic: their assumption that he is a
man. Yes, it˅s blasphemy to call oneself the son of Godˁunless one really is the
son of God, in which case one is only speaking the truth. Checkmate.
--Underlying this entire reading from John is an implied and ironic commentary
on the deceptive nature of our ˈseeingˉ which is recurrent throughout the Gos-
pels. The Jews see Jesus, but what their eyes tell them is deceptive. He ap-
pears mortal, but is divine. In their seeing Jesus as a mere man, the Jews delib-
erately close their eyes to the larger truth, which they refuse to believe. One re-
calls the words of St. Thomas Aquinas: ˈI can see, thanks to the light of the sun;
but if I close my eyes, I cannot see. This is no fault of the sun, it is my own fault,
because by closing my eyes, I prevent the sunlight from reaching me.ˉ
Prayer
Almighty and Everlasting God, who through your mercy sent your Son to re-
deem us from our blind obsession with the trivialities of this world, open our eyes
to the sunlightˁto the mystery of your love for us as we journey toward Easter.
As we witness again Christ˅s agony on the cross, help us to understand the pro-
found love that called forth such a sacrifice. We pray, in all humility, that we may
be worthy of such love. Amen.
_______
Penny Cobey
Parishioner, RCIA candidate, is to be received into the Church at Easter