Saturday March 11 Lent 2
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Psalm 75
God assures us that justice will prevail.
Psalm 76
Praise to God who stands with overwhelming power for the poor and for the oppressed.
Jeremiah 5: 20-31 What’s Jeremiah about?
Even the dangerous and chaotic ocean obeys the boundaries that God has made for it, but God’s people accept no moral boundaries and exploit the poor, and the priests and prophets encourage them. Danger is imminent as a result.
Christians might interpret that this infidelity reaches its culmination in the execution of Jesus.
John 7: 1-13 What’s John about?
It may be that sixty years after Jesus’ earthly life, when this gospel was being written, accusations were being made that Jesus had been deliberately whipping up crowds and orchestrating his own death to make himself famous. Today’s passage is an attempt to refute that accusation.
Jesus is remembered as having refused to attend an important festival, even when being urged by his brothers. Jesus repeatedly refuses to attend because he says “his time” has not yet come.
“His time” not having come is intended to suggest two things. First, that Jesus doesn’t plan opportunities to become famous but responds to what serves God, and second that “his time” refers to his execution. Even though the circumstances for his execution would have been right because he is not supported by his own brothers nor by the religious leaders (which is what “the Jews” means) he won’t take advantage of that to get himself executed. That’s why he goes secretly to Jerusalem.
For us the question might be whether we think of Jesus as someone whose life and death and resurrection made him famous, or whether those events are windows through which Jesus enables us to see the character of God.
This week’s collect:
Almighty God, whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross,
give us faith to perceive his glory,
that being strengthened by his grace
we may be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Harold,
Day after day I read the comments you write re the Gospel etc. I am profoundly grateful for them, and want to thank you for them. I have been a priest for 62 years, and make it a habit to say Matins and Evensong every day (for 62 years of course). Your comments are so very helpful to me, and I mean that especially about today’s comments re the Gospel. Thank you so very much.