Eastertide
May 8, 2022
Scripture Reading:
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.’
We are in a pandemic of people being told truth who chose not to believe it because it was not what they wanted to hear. As I read the above-quoted scripture, I wondered if that was the problem with the religious leaders in this story. The Jews had been waiting for the Messiah for years, but would the Messiah’s presence disturb their leadership, their power, their privilege?
A new divide and conquer issue arises almost weekly in the US now with no one willing to look at the realities of the issues or seek common ground for the Common Good. The bathroom issue is currently catching fire in Oklahoma. While schools and other governmental entities are dealing with the war over the issue, I have noticed that many restaurants have taken down the signs designating gender allowing anyone to use whichever facility they choose. In Sweden, bathrooms were built for privacy and none were designated.
Bathrooms are not the issue. The problem we are dealing with is fearing the loss of our privilege like the leaders of the temple in Jesus’ day feared would happen if Jesus really was the Messiah. They killed him because of it. The sad thing is, that Jesus’ coming was a gift of abundant life for all. No one needs to be better than anyone else to be a person of worth to God. God created all of us in God’s image and loves all of us.
Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to love all your children as you love all of us. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.