The WORD in Other Words by Fr Junmar Maestrado SVD (Italy)
Saturday 4th Week of Lent
Jesus’ message always triggered conflicting reactions: astonishment, enthusiasm, or even rejection and hatred. “Do you think I came to bring peace to earth? No, I tell you, not peace, but division.” (see Luke 12:51) One cannot just simply say, I accept Jesus ’message wholeheartedly. It demands a decision: yes or no, for or against Christ. I have to make that decision repeatedly, everyday, every moment.
Full of prejudices, the Jews could not classify Jesus. They did not listen to his message and would not even dare open their hearts for his words, though they had waited so long for the Messiah. What he announced was a radical challenge to their lives and expectations. Even today many people are not ready for Jesus’ message. Some are saturated by another kind of truth and think that they have everything without a need for a messiah in their lives. Others behave like the Pharisees in today’s gospel who would like to put a chain around Christ and his church. We must ask ourselves: Am I completely committed to God? Is there something in my life that I should change?
The guards witnessed the extraordinary authority of Jesus. “No one has ever spoken like this before.” It was their excuse for not bringing Jesus to justice. Jesus spoke differently from the scribes. His authority, manifested in his words, healed, performed miracles, delivered us from evil,and silenced the opponents (see Mt 22,34). Pope Benedict spoke about the authority of Jesus as the power of God’s love and the whole existence of Jesus is a translation of his power in humility (Angelus Jan. 29, 2012).
Source – The WORD in Other Words, Bible Diary 2020
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