RevivaLent 2018 - #32

Revive your readiness to genuine dialogue

Saturday, 4th week in Lent: 17th March, 2018

Jer 11: 18-20; Jn 7: 40-53

Forming opinions on persons or events without actually knowing the whole truth is a judgement, and of course would be a wrong one at that. Incomplete knowledge is dangerous, and not being aware of its incompleteness is doubly dangerous. 

Today we see this phenomenon at work every where: the clashes between religious fanatics, the terrifying threats of some fundamentalists, inter denominational hatred and divisions, interpersonal issues in the families...everywhere this phenomenon is at work: half baked opinions and fully blocked minds, that do not allow genuine dialogue but lead only to the slaughter of the minority by the senseless majority, or stifling of the weak by the ruthless strong!

The Word presents to us the same picture today, with Jesus taking the place of the minority, the weak, the vulnerable, the affected, the sacrificed lamb. It can be that everyday we could be sacrificing someone at the altars of our ego and those of our judgments...and in their persons we could be slaughtering the sacrificial Lamb over and over again. 

It takes courage to realise and accept the harm my half baked opinions and fully blocked mind can do, to me and to others! It takes sincerity to work out of such a treacherous style of life and thought. It takes humility to say, I am ready for dialogue, genuine and sincere dialogue! Let us revive our readiness to genuine dialogue.