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 in Jerusalem 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 any 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; instead, they were trying 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 that they 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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