Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent -- April 8, 2011
John 7:1 – 2, 10, 25 – 30
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near . . . (7:1 - 2)
. . . However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. . . . (7:10)
. . . At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (7:25 - 30)
These verses are shaped around one of the Jewish festivals, the Feast of Tabernacles. Already in John’s accounting of salvation history, Jesus had been at odds with the religious establishment. In the Gospel of John, friction with institutional religion came early. In Matthew, Mark and Luke the conflict does not escalate until much later in the Gospel accounts.
To be honest, the text for today chops up the unit, picking and choosing parts of the story, but obviously leaving out important elements in the story. Taken from three different parts of John 7, the text seems to be after a particular point. The daily readings sometimes are like that.
There are a couple of themes that stand out to me as I think about the whole unit. One theme is the way Jesus moves through this time in his life. Continually the text says that Jesus’ time had not yet come. You have the distinct impression through this text – and in fact, throughout his entire life – that Jesus knew exactly what time it was in his life. At every moment he lived with a depth of self-awareness that enabled him to know who he was, where he was, and what time it was in his life.
This idea of the “time” in Jesus’ life runs through the chapter.
In verse 10, John reported that Jesus moved about secretly, not publicly. That theme is stated in some other ways throughout John 7 (in parts of the unit omitted from the Church’s daily lectionary reading).
In fact, Jesus’ brothers noticed his movements out of the public eye (7:3 – 4), especially how he was hesitant to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. They chided him for his secrecy:
“You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
I am fascinated by their statement that, “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.” It sounds like conventional wisdom, the kind of thinking that people accept without question, then perpetuate whether it is true or not. It suggests that the most important parts of life are lived in the public domain, in the spotlight, in front of other people.
Jesus, though, lived in another rhythm. Much of his life was lived in quiet. While he regularly interacted with solitary persons as well as crowds, he also retreated for prayer in solitude and silence. I would argue that those times of silence and solitude, time he spent with his Father, were the times when he came to a deep understanding of his identity and life-mission. Those times connected him with God and gave him the gravity of being to live fully into the person God created him to be.
I think the brothers had it completely wrong. Any public figure who embodies Spirit, lives with wisdom, and leads others absolutely has to withdraw from the public from time to time. Life without that element of hiddenness becomes flat.
The inner well-springs from which we offer ourselves publicly are replenished only when we reconnect with the Source.
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near . . . (7:1 - 2)
. . . However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. . . . (7:10)
. . . At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. (7:25 - 30)
These verses are shaped around one of the Jewish festivals, the Feast of Tabernacles. Already in John’s accounting of salvation history, Jesus had been at odds with the religious establishment. In the Gospel of John, friction with institutional religion came early. In Matthew, Mark and Luke the conflict does not escalate until much later in the Gospel accounts.
To be honest, the text for today chops up the unit, picking and choosing parts of the story, but obviously leaving out important elements in the story. Taken from three different parts of John 7, the text seems to be after a particular point. The daily readings sometimes are like that.
There are a couple of themes that stand out to me as I think about the whole unit. One theme is the way Jesus moves through this time in his life. Continually the text says that Jesus’ time had not yet come. You have the distinct impression through this text – and in fact, throughout his entire life – that Jesus knew exactly what time it was in his life. At every moment he lived with a depth of self-awareness that enabled him to know who he was, where he was, and what time it was in his life.
This idea of the “time” in Jesus’ life runs through the chapter.
In verse 10, John reported that Jesus moved about secretly, not publicly. That theme is stated in some other ways throughout John 7 (in parts of the unit omitted from the Church’s daily lectionary reading).
In fact, Jesus’ brothers noticed his movements out of the public eye (7:3 – 4), especially how he was hesitant to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. They chided him for his secrecy:
“You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
I am fascinated by their statement that, “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.” It sounds like conventional wisdom, the kind of thinking that people accept without question, then perpetuate whether it is true or not. It suggests that the most important parts of life are lived in the public domain, in the spotlight, in front of other people.
Jesus, though, lived in another rhythm. Much of his life was lived in quiet. While he regularly interacted with solitary persons as well as crowds, he also retreated for prayer in solitude and silence. I would argue that those times of silence and solitude, time he spent with his Father, were the times when he came to a deep understanding of his identity and life-mission. Those times connected him with God and gave him the gravity of being to live fully into the person God created him to be.
I think the brothers had it completely wrong. Any public figure who embodies Spirit, lives with wisdom, and leads others absolutely has to withdraw from the public from time to time. Life without that element of hiddenness becomes flat.
The inner well-springs from which we offer ourselves publicly are replenished only when we reconnect with the Source.
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