Each of the gospels tries to answer the question in its own way. In John's gospel we heard the first part of his answer yesterday. Jesus's curing of the man on the sabbath became, if not the cause, at least the excuse, for them to begin plotting his destruction.
Today he dares to refer to God as his father and so
They sought all the more to kill him.
So, he helped someone and he told the truth, and for those reasons he had to be destroyed. Sadly, there are some aspects of the world that have changed little in 2000 years.
We all say we want to follow Jesus but as we draw closer to Holy Week, we begin to be reminded that while grace is freely given by God, it is not free of consequences. If we strive to follow Jesus, and do what is right, there are going to be those who don't like it for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the person him/herself may not be aware of their true motives. We should give up any notions we might have that being a good person, living a Christian life is going to inoculate us from suffering. Jesus lived the perfect human life and was crucified for it. Should we expect more?
The more we strive to be conformed to Christ and not to the world the more likely it becomes that we will be crucified as well. Just as Jesus's ordering the man to violate the sabbath was used as the pretext, so our actions may be spun and used as a basis to attack us.
Unlike Jesus none of us live a perfect life. Every one of us have failed and will fail.
Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.
The place we usually stone people today is online.
The good news in all of this is that if we are crucified like Christ we will rise like Christ. Like Jesus we must believe with all our hearts that God is truly our father. We must trust him and keep our eyes fixed on him. In these last days of Lent as we journey with Jesus toward Jerusalem, may our courage grow, may we strive to help others, strive to speak the truth, and confidently embrace whatever come as a result. We know the destination. Can we trust God with the journey?
