Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
In today’s Gospel, some in the crowd are surprised that Jesus is from Galilee and don’t believe that he is a prophet or the Messiah/Christ. “But others said, ‘The Christ will not come from Galilee will he?’” (John 7:41). “‘Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee,’” (John 7:52). What are our expectations? Perhaps what God does isn’t what we expect. The Gospels are full of these reversals.
Often the people who understand Jesus’ message are those who are ill, blind, deaf, poor, and other despised people rather than the religious elite of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes who, at that time, were expected to know all religious things and be religiously observant. This Gospel passage challenges us to look at our own biases, prejudices, and preconceived notions and how they prevent us from seeing people and situations as they really are.
The unexpected is supposed to humble us. Lent allows us to prepare to rise to a new life with Jesus at Easter by taking on his virtue of humility. Humility requires dependence on God like Jeremiah in the first reading and today’s Psalmist. The Gospel readings this week foreshadow Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. Later on, he will ask for “this cup to pass” (Matthew 26:39) but willing to do the will of the Father even if it's not his own. As we look ahead to the rest of Lent, let us learn from Jesus and his mother Mary at the foot of the cross how to deal with life’s difficulties and challenges with humility.
-Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI