Today's Gospel takes place during the
feast of the dedication, also known as the feast of the lights or the feast of
Hanukkah. This Jewish festival
celebrates the rededication of the altar in the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in
the year 165 BCE after it had been desecrated.
At this point in the Gospel of John, Jesus had only revealed himself as
the Messiah to the Samaritan woman; he had not revealed his true identity to
the others. Many were asking Jesus questions not to learn more about him or to
grow in their faith, but rather to entrap him. They were not seeking to follow
Jesus, but rather to push him into a corner.
Even though Jesus saw how the crowd was trying to entrap him, he was
always faithful to the truth. Jesus
respected God's time and the mission he had from God, rather than trying to
live up to the expectations that the people of Ancient Israel had for him as
the Messiah.
Jesus tells us that his sheep will hear
his voice and will follow him. A lot can
be revealed about our faith by the questions we ask and by the intentions we
have behind these questions, by our sincerity of heart and our respect for the
Lord. We live in a world where so many
people are cynical or sarcastic, where reputation and outward appearance seems
to matter more than our true intentions.
Compassion, respect, and sincerity are often viewed by our society as
weaknesses rather than virtues that we should cultivate.
As we continue on our journey of faith
during this Easter season, as we continue to grow in the revelation of what the
risen Christ really means to us where we are at in the present moment of our
lives, may we ask our heavenly Father, that in the name of his beloved son,
that he would guide our footsteps today and that he would help us to do his
will and to keep us on the right path.
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