Reflection
Today’s Gospel is a longer version of the Gospel we heard this past Sunday. It adds context for Jesus’ response to the Jews seeking to get Him to say that He is the Messiah. The Feast of the Dedication, while celebrating the rebuilding of the Temple in ~164 B.C., also reminded the Jews of the “still to come” Messiah for which they were waiting.
While Jesus responds to their question by saying “I told you and you do not believe…,” it was both His words and His works that were doing the “talking.” He had already performed many “signs” as the Evangelist calls them. He had already declared Himself the “Bread of Life,” “the Light of the World,” and most recently the “Good Shepherd.” Yet, caught up in their pride, these Jews were still seeking to eliminate Jesus rather than see and acknowledge Him as the Messiah.
Pride is the deadliest of all sins. Pride is the refusal to be open to seeing the world differently, which causes us to not let go of our self-serving beliefs, habits and way of relating to the world around us. It is easy to see the effect pride had on the Jews in today’s Gospel. But it is more difficult to see our own pride and the effect it has on our life.
How does pride change our perspective on Jesus? How often have we thought or said, ‘if only Jesus would have done this for me,’ after praying for an outcome that we desire? Or, how often do we think or say, ‘why would Jesus allow that to happen to me,’ when something bad happens in our life? These are examples of us wanting to be God and have Jesus as our servant. In these moments, we lose sight of who Jesus is and what He has already done for us.
Jesus is the Son of God the Father, who became one of us, suffered and died for us, and rose from the dead to rescue us from slavery to sin and death! Jesus is the one who, with the Father, sent us at Pentecost the Holy Spirit, the very love between the Father and the Son, so that we would have the grace and the strength to form and thrive in a community of believers, the Church, and thus have eternal life!
This is what Jesus offers us, if only we believe in Him and trust in the Holy Spirit. Compared to this, doesn’t our wants, desires, and complaints about not getting what we want seem petty? Let us ask the Holy Spirit to remove our selfish pride and give us a spirit of humility that leads us to complete faith and trust in our loving God.
Today’s Questions for Prayer and Reflection
How strong and firm is your faith in Jesus? Where does pride bring you unnecessary anger or sadness?