Reflection for SATURDAY, 5th Week of Lent.

By

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar 

 Gospel Passage

 John 11:45-56

    Jesus was to die to gather together the scattered children of God

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him, but some of them went to tell the Pharisees what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. ‘Here is this man working all these signs’ they said ‘and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy the Holy Place and our nation.’ One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, ‘You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’ He did not speak in his own person, it was as high priest that he made this prophecy that Jesus was to die for the nation – and not for the nation only, but to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. From that day they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples.

  The Jewish Passover drew near, and many of the country people who had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves looked out for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?’

Reflection on the readings 

Today's gospel ends with questions, and those questions will be answered in the coming days as the liturgy unfolds.

It was also a questioning time for Jesus as His hour of reckoning approaches.

So as He retreated to the countryside with His disciples, He could have decided to remain there.

He could have gone on with His work of healing and teaching in a quiet way.

Many people would have supported Him and kept Him safe.

But Jesus knew that that was not the Father's will, so He moved out of His safety zone, a move that will cost Him His life.

Hence whenever we talk about doing God's will, we have to remember that it involves risk.

It involves moving out of our safety zone and moving out of our comfort zone.

But it is only in moving out that God moves in.

It is only when we move out of our pride, our resentment, our selfishness that God can move in to strengthen us with His love and to face the questions of life.


       GOD BLESS YOU

Good morning. Have a nice day.