Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The text from John that is before us today is a tough one. It’s the sort of reading that calls one to seek out a good commentary to try to figure it out. I say that because if you try to get the meaning of what Jesus is saying off the surface of the text, you can end up in a very bad place. Without context, it can sound like Jesus is just ripping “the Jews”—as if “the Jews” are his opponents. You won’t be surprised to hear that many a Christian over the years has used this reading as a weapon against Jews.
However, when we turn to a good commentary for help what we learn is that the debate that Jesus is engaged in is an inter-family debate. That is, it is a debate among Jews. And, of course, Jesus was himself a Jew. Jesus is not saying that all Jews have this or that or the other thing wrong. Instead, he’s holding accountable a certain group of Jews who were in power and who were oppressing other Jews that they thought were beneath them.
There is no need to go into the weeds of that debate. My point here is actually about gratitude. I am so grateful for the Catholic intellectual tradition because it means that I don’t have to rely on myself to figure out certain tough readings like this one. We have to be honest: this is a place (and there are others) where Jesus doesn’t sound like Jesus.
I am so thankful that I am part of a church that embraces the wisdom of the sages—like people who write smart commentaries and can read the New Testament in the Greek and who know the history behind this or that reading. I am so grateful for the wisdom of the saints—like Saint Augustine, whose brilliant and simple hermeneutic in On Christian Doctrine is this: if ever you find yourself interpreting a reading in the Bible as saying anything other than God is love, you can be certain that you have it wrong. I just love the simplicity of that wisdom. This passage is not telling us that we should hate “the Jews.”
So, what is it saying?
I am sure it is saying many things. Just one thing is this: I AM. Jesus IS. Jesus always is—past, present, and future. We have never been without him. We never are without him. We never will be without him. He is. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. It is impossible for us to be without him . . . being. And being with us.
As I write this, I am reminded of a 14th century Catholic woman whose book, Revelations of Divine Love, was the first book written in English by a woman that saw publication. Julian grew up amidst the waves of the Black Plague that hit England and many other places in Europe and that took, on average, the lives of about a third of the population. In other words, she lived in a very dark time. Worse than ours, but not unlike ours.
In her book, she talks about what God told her in a series of visions that she had during that time. Amy Laura Hall, who has written a beautiful book on Julian’s visions and writings—Laughing at the Devil: Seeing the World with Julian of Norwich—puts to the page an insight that I want to share with you: Julian “concentrates the time that God sees into a poynte that reveals only God’s love. Providence becomes a matter not of God’s intent and our future safety from sin. God’s intent, according to Julian’s vision, is love. Period. Full stop” (25).
I AM.
Thanks be to God.
- Sue Trollinger