Reading
John 10:31-42
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Meditation
The passion of Jesus is approaching and the Gospel of John illustrates the accusation that will lead to his death sentence in a confrontation with the incredulous Jews. The accusation they make against him is that of making himself like God, committing, in their judgment, the greatest of sins, that committed by our ancestors (Gn 3,5).
In his defense against the Jews, who for the third time try to stone him, Jesus quotes Psalm 82, written in the "Law", a word with which he refers to the Scriptures of the entire Old Testament. In the psalm, the unjust judges are called "gods" because God has assigned them the responsibility to speak on his behalf. How much more can Jesus, who does the same works as the Father and who is faithful to him, be called "Son of God".
To have faith in Jesus, one must open one's eyes and mind to contemplation of the works that manifest God's magnificence and mercy. When we become familiar with Christ and experience him, we recognize all that the Scriptures say about him. We believe to understand and we understand to believe (Augustine of Hippo). Faith is not a leap in the dark, but the progression in the experiential knowledge of God: "you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (v. 38).
The opponents of Jesus believe they find reasons to condemn him in the Scriptures, but whoever approaches them with faith recognizes that they speak of him: "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (Jn 5:46).
Moving towards Perea, in the place where John baptized, Jesus concludes his ministry, before the crucifixion, where it began. Shortly thereafter he will die to continue to tell the truth about himself, sealing on the cross the affirmation of his own identity, recognized with amazement by the pagan centurion: "Surely he was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54).
Prayer
Open our ears, o Lord, to listening to your word, and our eyes to the wonders of your grace; so that we can know you and make you known to men. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
