Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

A bluebird on a cold spring morning
over the post office at MSF

Jesus cried out and said….

John 12:37-50 summarizes the first part of his gospel, which is called the “Book of Signs.” Jesus has given us not proofs of his divine authority in the scientific sense, but signs that are clearly understood by those whom the Father has chosen. These disciples are blessed with the Holy Spirit and have an innate sense of who Jesus is and what he is about. (The adjective innate denotes a trait one is born with, as in natal and nativity; in this case it refers to the rebirth of Baptism.)

In this recap, the evangelist first summarizes a history of the Jewish people based upon a prophecy of Isaiah. They did not believe because God had sealed their ears and closed their eyes against the word of salvation. It was somehow terribly and tragically necessary that Jesus not be welcomed among his own. It was a story already too familiar. Virtually all the prophets had been scorned by the people whom God loved. Finally, their rejection leads to his crucifixion and salvation for the whole world.

In the latter part of this passage we hear Jesus speak. You might imagine this as a voice in a darkened theater, with perhaps a narrow spotlight shining only upon his face. When he has finished, his face will disappear, the house lights will go up and we will pause for intermission. When the play resumes with chapter 13 we will discover “the hour has come;” and we will participate in his Last Supper, passion, death and resurrection.

And what does he say as this Book of Signs ends? It is that radical, wonderful challenge we have heard so often and yet must hear daily. “”Believe in me!” There is no other name by which we may be saved.

People have dedicated their lives to this simple truth. Monks and nuns retire to their monasteries, hermitages and anchorages to practice turning and turning and turning again to this one truth, much as Mary Magdalene did when she found Jesus in the garden. We do it with our Morning Offering and our evening Examination of Conscience. Every thought, word and deed must be aware of his Lordship. Whether we play, work or sleep; speak or remain silent; live or die: we are the Lord’s. The day we think we’ve accomplished this is the day we fall flat on our faces.

It’s the ought/should/have-to that hangs over every moment of existence – and we’ve learned to despise shoulds and oughts and have-tos. But it’s also the invitation to holiness and contentment far exceeding anything we can ask for or imagine. It’s the Law of God for which the pious Jew wrote 176 verses of the 119^th psalm. Every day we thank God that he is not content to let us rot in our sins. Every day he shows us mercy and we must say “Thank you!” with new astonishment and enthusiasm.

This concluding remark is also Jesus’ summary of his life, although there are many such summaries in the Gospel of John:

I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. 
And I know that his commandment is eternal life. 
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

Finally, Jesus commands my obedience only because he is obedient.