From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts:
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
John 10:27-30, Gospel for this Sunday
One of the shortest of Sunday Gospel readings—but that’s it, isn’t it—the whole thing in a nutshell.
Either Jesus speaks with the Father’s authority, or he does not. Either Jesus has the Father’s authority and saving power for the sheep of his pasture, or he does not. Either Jesus tells us the truth, or he does not.
His meaning was perfectly clear to the Jews hearing him speak, for the next line of the Gospel tells us that some of them picked up rocks to throw at him for blasphemy, accusing him of being only a man, but calling himself God. Jesus offers two lines of evidence to refute the charge: the dramatic healing miracles they have seen with their own eyes and the prophetic words he applies to himself from their own Scriptures.
Jesus’ claim is immensely significant, everyone realizes that. The exact relationship between the Father and the Son takes some working out. To believe Jesus is, for most people, quite difficult. (We will not consider here the subset of humanity who will apparently believe any Tweet they have ever received… .) God knows: belief is difficult many of us—that is one reason Jesus worked at this patiently throughout his public ministry. Miracles are manifestly good deeds of healing—and there were more people than Jesus alone who had reputations as healers. Jesus’ healing miracles are abundant, many of them unusual and some of them go far beyond the culturally approved healing norms. There are a lot of Scriptural prophecies and the then-traditional understandings of them. Jesus quotes various well-known Scriptures and gives arguments as to why and how they apply to him. He EXPECTS it will take time and thoughtfulness for people to put two-and-two (and three) together and come to the conclusion that faith in him is warranted. Warranted, at least, to try.
On the other hand, picking up rocks says time has run out, thoughtfulness has been abandoned. They are closing their eyes and minds deliberately. That’s when not having faith becomes blameworthy. “If there is light out there, I do not want to see it!”
We do live in a time when faith does not come easily. Our materialistic culture and the abandonment of faith by so many (including those who practice evil under the cover of a pretense of faith) are huge stumbling blocks. And yet the call is still there and still requires an answer from each of us. As a way of stepping back for a bit of perspective, try the column linked to below. Read it. Give it some thought.
Opinion | A Guide to Finding Faith – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
For further reflection:
The direct link should send you to the article directly. Most recipients of the Sunday Note had no trouble getting to it. If this does not work for you, let me know by email at jdmccullough[at]earthlink.net and I will forward you a copy of the article.
You may know someone else who is searching–pass it along!