The WORD in LENT - Fourth week, Friday
March 24, 2023: Wisdom 2: 1, 12-22; John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30
People need no special reason to reject or condemn some one... it is enough that he or she is different from them. The passage from the book of Wisdom, though written hundreds of years before Christ, seems to fit in exactly to his life, as if it were a direct prophecy about Christ's life and its end. If we really look a little more deep, it may suit many others of our times too... persons who stand for truth, persons who are ridiculed for their commitment, persons who are threatened for their integrity in character, persons who are left to suffer just because they are sincere and genuine, and so on. Yes, it will fit into the life of anyone who wishes to live the purpose of one's life to the full.
There is a contrast that struck me, as I reflected on the readings of today: in the first reading there is a repeated usage of the phrase, "let us" - let us lie in wait, let us test, let us condemn and so on; while in the Gospel there is a repeated referrence of Jesus to himself - you know me, one who sent me, I have come from etc. The contrast can give us an insight into distinguishing conformity and integrity - the conformity to the collective evil around and the integrity of the persons of God who have their identity in God.
Integrity of the persons of God, like Jesus, lies in the capacity to live our life to the full, and be reminders of it to everyone around! It does not matter what surrounds me or who surrounds me, I need to resolve in the Lord to live my life to the full. Jesus knew that he will be soon laid hands upon, but that would not stop him from being what he were, or doing what he did! It is so important that we understand our real identity with such clarity, to be as strong and determined as Jesus was. That alone can enable and empower us to live to the full, for peace is in fact, living to the full.