JEremiah 20:10-13; Ps 18 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice; John 10:31-42
"any of those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine..."
How often are these words of Jeremiah a fitting description of our own sorted mind? How often do we seek to catch others doing something wrong and ready to pounce?
Yet, this isn't the only way. THere is a better way. We can actually doing it differently. What if we started to catch people doing something right and praise them for it.
What if we started each day with that determination that we were going to catch people red handed doing good and being good.
what if we started looking at the world differently.
I am reminded of the coca cola commercial that uses security cameras to show people doing good and enjoying life rather than just catching criminals in a misstep.
Here is the link watch if you like, but know i am not supporting Coke but i do like the twist on things that is presented and the slogan: look at the world differently.
"Sing to Lord, praise the lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked" even and especially if the wicked is in us.
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Look at the gospel it goes right along with the first reading and it begins, "jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus."
This is certainly an intense way to begin the gospel, "the good news". We are invited to enter right in the middle of the plot twist that is going to lead to Jesus death.
There is so much hostility, and anger, and violence, and frustration. The opening lines begs for us to experience in full force, "picked up rocks to stone him."
They had blood on the brain and were ready to exercise the violent thoughts of their hearts.
WHy? They wanted to defend God. That is right they wanted to defend God with violence.
What an awkward and distorted way to show honor to the one who is the source of life, goodness, and grace!
How many times have we done this in our history. How often has the name of God in whatever religion has been used to bring forth bloodshed upon bloodshed, violence upon violence?
The complaint was that They thought jesus, "you a man, was making himself out to be God."
How ironic that they were almost correct. It isn't man that was making himself God in the person of Jesus but rather God who has become man. They were almost correct, but almost didn't count and led to violence.
JEsus is being bullied and quickly the plot turns toward the paschal mystery: suffering, death, and resurrection.
There is only one way this can resolve it self and it is with goodness absorbing the heat of violence and anger, nailing it to the cross, only to restore it to new life and new goodness in the victory over death itself: by his wounds we are healed.
The best part of the gospel is JEsus walks away. He knows which fights to pick and how to pick them.
If only we knew the same!
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