Mere Humans
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent Daily Reading : John 10:31 – 42 Focus Passage : Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." (Jn. 10:31 – 33) The persons who wanted to stone Jesus appraised him as “a mere man.” We may find those words hard to fathom, knowing from hindsight what we do about Jesus. But we make similar appraisals about persons every day. We misjudge. We label. We categorize using all sorts of criteria and prejudice. Those standing with stones in their hands, feeling threatened by Jesus, considered him a “mere man.” We pigeon-hole those we see on street corners, in grocery stores, and sitting on park benches in all sorts of ways. Our characterizations over-generalize and fail to notice...