They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
Readers of the Fourth Gospel should understand this document is written for us. The Evangelist did not expect or intend that everyone should read it. As he explains in the nineteenth chapter:
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.
He restates the principle in the twenty-first chapter:
But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
There are many compelling stories and persuasive arguments in the Gospel for those who believe. But if you bring a multicultural ambivalence to the reading; or you read as if you might be open to disbelief; or for your neighbor who doesn't believe; or, finally, if you prefer that the Holy Spirit should not open your heart and mind to the Father who speaks through the Word Made Flesh, your reading Saint John's Gospel is like peering into deep water on a rainy day. Nothing appears.
The Gospel of Saint John tells us who we are. We are those who are baptized in the water flowing from his pierced side. We eat his flesh and drink his blood. We are the disciple whom he loved, who reclined with the Lord during his Last Supper and put our head to his breast. We took his Mother into our home at his explicit command. We receive the Holy Spirit as he handed it over with his dying breath. We believed he had been raised when we saw nothing but an empty tomb. We are not unbelieving but believe.
In today's gospel, the Lord speaks directly to us about them. They know neither the Father nor the Son. They are suspicious and hostile of anything unfamiliar to them, and Jesus is more than a little unfamiliar.
They are unbelievers; they are not attached to the Vine, they have no life within them. They have no idea where he came from; they cannot imagine where he is going; much less where he is taking us.
Twenty centuries later, the faithful who read the Gospel of John might not experience daily the same hostility or incomprehension from those who do not believe in Jesus. We might even discover their friendly sympathy, as they suppose we are not really different from them. We dress the same, speak the same language, use the same money, and work in ordinary occupations. Our fidelity to the Word of God might not be shining as if in a dark place.
Nor should we entertain the Christian wariness that the Gospel seems to suggest. We regard non-believers and Jews with friendly eyes and open hearts despite the attitude we find in Saint John.
But, that being said, we should never surrender the privileged place of the Beloved Disciple. We cling to the Lord and his Mother, following doggedly in their footsteps toward Calvary even as others fall behind. We cannot answer for them, their attitudes or behavior. We can only watch, listen and wait; and then tell others what we have seen and heard.
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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.