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Gospel Reading for April 7, 2025 – John 8: 12-20
JUST AT OUR FINGERTIPS
Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified.” Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone. And even if I should judge, my judgement is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me.” So they said to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
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For the Jews, Jesus was speaking in Greek. They could not understand what he was saying, and this was because their practice of Judaism was too complicated. In a telephone game which does not even take 5 minutes in a small group, where a phrase is whispered to the next person, transmission chaining happens, where the last person usually says something different from what the phrase was when it started. It is said that there is roughly 1,000 years in between Moses and Jesus. If this were true, we can now imagine why the 10 Commandments was multiplied and interpreted the way it was, and the practice of Judaism became too complicated and too burdensome. In a way, we cannot blame the Jews for their ignorance.
But, look at us Christians. We are followers of Christ. We now know Jesus so much more than the Jews. After Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost upon the apostles, they started proclaiming the Word. They started proclaiming Jesus wherever they went. There is no big gap, but just a number of days from the Ascension to Pentecost. And then, we have the Bible and Tradition which are all preserved. The Bible, especially, is JUST AT OUR FINGERTIPS, and yet, do we really read? Do we really try to know more about Jesus or how God’s plan of salvation unfolded?
As Benjamin Franklin said, “Being ignorant is not so much a shame, as being unwilling to learn.”
“Day by day, day by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray: To see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day by day!” (Godspell)
