Friday, April 11th
Mary Larkin Patton
Again, His Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” Again, they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” And in that place many believed in Jesus.
In this passage, we see Jesus’s Jewish opponents attempting to stone him for blasphemy. They believe he is a liar, harming religious tradition, and must be eliminated for the good of the church. They are angry at the sight of someone who is upsetting the age-old routine.
When faced with something so unorthodox and revolutionary as God’s love, we may not realize the similarities between us and the Jewish leaders– we like the constant, everyday flow to which we have become accustomed. It is predictable and well-known.
Why is it so hard for us to embrace God’s love? We dismiss it as blasphemy and try to avoid it because it seems too good to be true. His love is seen in action all the time, but we don’t take time to accept it or share it, and we are skeptical and doubtful. This Lent, it’s important to take time to recognize His love for us and not push it away– but to welcome it and share it with others.
Dear God, throughout the season of Lent, reveal to us your unconditional love so that we may accept it and share it with others. Amen
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