“I am going away and you
will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.”
Jesus’ taunt of the Pharisees is both frustrating and confounding. They must wonder where he is going that they cannot go. Why not? And who’s to stop them? Don’t they have better connections to powerful people in both Jewish and Roman circles?
His cryptic statement is
typical of Saint John’s gospel. A statement that seems, on the face of it,
fairly straightforward actually leads to a mysterious revelation.
Where is he going?
Up.
As in…? Up the mountain like
Moses? Up to the top of the parapet of the temple? Will he rise upward in influential circles? Will he excel
Caesar Augustus?
Only those whom the
Father has given Jesus can comprehend what he is saying; they are those
gathered and anointed by the Holy Spirit. But even their comprehension is more apprehension
-- an intuited awareness that there
is something here; something beautiful, desirable, important and infinitely beyond
human understanding.
This apprehension is a bit fearful too, because I
realize even as I am not understanding that I am being understood – and cherished
and loved – by one greater than myself. As Etta James sang, “SOMETHING’S gotta
hold on me.”
And, whatever it is, it’s
good, very good. It’s beautiful and delightful and so much better than my
former way of life. As Saint Augustine said, “The heart is drawn to love as
iron is drawn to a magnet.” Iron has less understanding of
the magnet than we have of God but not by much!
The Pharisees can’t understand.
Clinging to and leaning on one another in a frightened phalanx, none dares to break
ranks and none can permit another to break ranks.
Jesus will ascend to his
Father by way of a ladder. He had alluded to Jacob's Ladder when he met Nathaniel,
Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.The ladder is the cross which he will climb, ascending like an incense offering before the Father's throne. Those who go down with him into Baptism will rise with him to Glory.
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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.