“Now
is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
and he will glorify him at once.
One key
to Saint John’s passion narrative is his use
of irony. As we use irony today, it is sometimes humorous and occasionally
sarcastic. Dictionary.com has a useful definition, “the use of words to convey
a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony
of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend. Saint John uses that dictionary sense
of opposite its literal meaning, but without humor or sarcasm. And
then he pursues meaning further, into the sublime. So when we hear of glory,
we can expect its opposite, which is humiliation. But – now here’s the twist – Saint John’s irony is not ironic: the humiliation
of Jesus is his glory, but
only the faithful may see it. When he says in the first chapter, “we have seen
his glory” he is already directing our attention to the crucifixion.
This
device helps us to see clearly what is really happening during the arrest,
trial, torture and execution of Jesus . We come to understand there
is no other way Jesus could affect our salvation.
We should
understand this principle when we read the word Jews. The fourth gospel seems
to be the most anti-Jewish of the gospels. John uses the word Jews where
the other evangelists say Pharisees, Herodians, scribes or Sadducees.
Is this gospel truly anti-Jewish? Should Christians despise the Jews?
No!
The point of Jewish hostility in this story is that Jesus must be abandoned and
despised by everyone including (and shockingly) his own people. They are no
more responsible for Jesus ’ death than the Pharaoh was for driving the Hebrews out of Egypt . This is a drama to demonstrate
the infinite mercy of God and it can be seen clearly only in the darkness of
appalling tragedy.
The
humiliation of Jesus literally goes beyond all bounds. This man is poured out for our
salvation and there is nothing left of him. In the utter emptiness that
follows, the complete exhaustion of all beauty, dignity, strength and holiness,
we see God’s inexhaustible glory shining brilliantly, blindingly! In the
merciless treatment of Jesus we see both the full extent of human sin and the overwhelming
mercy of God. There is no one who can say, “I remained strong through it all. I
never lost my confidence in God.” The unnamed “disciple whom Jesus loved” and the unnamed “mother
of the Lord” kept faith by remaining with Jesus but they had no explanation
for what was happening at that time. Not even Mary could say, “I knew it all
along.”
In Saint John’s gospel, when Jesus says, “It is finished!” we
understand his self-sacrifice is complete. He is the high priest, clothed in a
seamless white alb, presiding over the sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb who is
himself. That is why the crowd who comes to arrest him in Gethsemane fall back when he says, “I
am he!” They cannot lay a hand on him until he is ready. He will point this out
to Pilate also, “You would have no
authority over me were it not given to you from above.” If Pilate thought of Caesar Augustus, Jesus was speaking of his Father. Finally,
on the cross, Jesus dies when he is ready, when he hands over his spirit to his
mother and his disciple.
With
his powerful use of irony, Saint John proves once and for all the
vanity of this world’s glory, and reveals the true glory of God.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.