3rd Tuesday of Lent (March 10). Disturbing words reversed

Prepare to Listen.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
 
Prayerfully Read John 7:32-36
32The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him.  33Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me.  34You will search for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come.”  35The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?  Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  36What does he mean by saying, ‘You will search for me, but you will not find me’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
 
Prayerfully Wonder
“You will search for me, but you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come.”  Some of Jesus’ most disturbing words. They were for people who were sure they knew and could see clearly.  But, as Merton states, we’re “most blind when we are convinced that we see.”[1]  Jesus’ shocking statement was a warning to his audience.  They were like Father Delp’s Nazi prison guards, whom he described as “not capable of knowing God.”[2]  It’s not meant to be a hopeless verdict, but a wake-up call, not just for them then, but also for us today.
 
Sadly, Jesus’ audience failed to heed his warning.  They didn’t understand him, didn’t ask for clarification, and never learned the truth about Jesus or themselves.  So they crucified him.  Their failure isn’t uncommon.  It was evident in Nazi Germany; it’s evident in the world today.  People think they know, and don’t realize they haven’t a clue.
 
The disciples probably didn’t understand either.  But they stayed with Jesus despite the threats to arrest and kill him.  They alone heard a reversal of Jesus’ words.  A few days before his arrest and death, Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for them, that where he was they’d be also, adding, “And you know the way to the place where I am going.”[3]  They were assured.
 
Today, an urgent task of the Church is to help people see the truth, not only about Jesus, but also about themselves, their humanity and the world.  How do you think you can participate in this urgent task?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, you often make shocking statements in order to wake us up and examine our lives for your truth.  Help me remain open to hearing and seeing and therefore knowing the truth about you and about myself.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Remain open to hearing Jesus’ words of hope.
[1] Merton, Thomas.  Faith and Violence.  Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.  1968, p. 54.
[2] Merton, 1968, p. 53.  [3] John 14:2-4.