Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going.
But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone. And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me.
It would be easy to describe the Lord who appears in the Gospel of Saint John as the Hero, the Lone Ranger, the Individual who opposes the Establishment. How many times has that untouchable character appeared in the dreamscape of our movies and television shows?
Jesus is certainly surrounded by his enemies, abandoned by his friends and family, idolized by the populace, and admirable for his courageous speech.
In American mythology, the hero is the son who is used by his mother to attack his father. For whatever reason she is unhappy with the narrow scope of her life and blames her controlling-but-largely-absent spouse. So with various subterfuges she uses her advantage of availability to charm the son into opposing his missing father.
Arriving at adulthood he continues to fight his "father' in the Establishment, the System or the Bureaucracy. Though he appears to be fighting crime or evil, his real enemy is always his superiors.
It would be easy to class Jesus as the Hero but that's not how he sees himself, nor does that agree with what he says. Jesus is always the obedient Son of the Father; he is never absent from God's presence. "I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me."
He can add with confounding confidence, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
The Father has sent the Son to show us the Truth. Inevitably that entails "removing the scales from our eyes;" that is, those assumptions and fears that skew our vision. Jesus' opponents are assured of certain certainties; they cannot welcome something new, no matter how promising it might be. Their certainties include the political and economic "realities" of their time, but not the Reality of God's Sovereignty over all the earth. They do not know the Victory has been won already.
Little has changed since that time. Our world is still controlled by hard-eyed realists and starry-eyed visionaries; neither can see the the Presence of God, neither can surrender control to God. Always they are compelled by greed or fear to manage as best they can, occasionally with catastrophic consequences.
That's okay. The Father has sent his Son and we who cling to him will see his glory revealed in every event, whether it resemble Palm Sunday, Good Friday or Easter.
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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.