Jeremiah and Jesus Judged and Condemned
We are drawing closer to the end of the Lenten season and nearing the Holy Week when we recall Jesus’ perseverance in doing the will of God. In addition to the works of penance, prayer, and almsgiving, we are challenged by the readings occurring at this period to reflect on the suffering and persecution of the just and the weak. Or perhaps, to reflect on the problem of evil beyond its philosophical and theological rhetoric. Today’s readings, (Jer 20:10-13; Jn 10:31-42), point to some aspect of that same problem, namely, the persecution and suffering of the just. We could pay attention and perhaps gain some insight into the way discrimination and ‘othering’ affect us.
In the first reading, Jeremiah was grieved by the plots of the enemies and their plans to terminate his life. This situation occurs even when Jeremiah believes he is just. Jeremiah was aware of the snares all around him and the fact that the enemies awaited eagerly his downfall. A slip of the tongue or an uncalculated action and he was doomed! In such a situation, any misstep, no matter how little, is capitalized upon by the enemy to cause harm.
In the Gospel, Jesus faces a similar fate to Jeremiah’s from those who wait for his downfall. The verse before the beginning of today’s gospel tells that, Jesus “fell” into the trap, as it were, when he affirmed that he and the Father are one: “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). Jesus understands his relationship with the Father better than any other person. Being part of the Godhead, his knowledge penetrates the deepest mysteries of the Godhead. The Jews in today’s Gospel could not fathom this reality, and they were not meant to fathom it either. More so, they were impeded by the limited knowledge they had. They were rather quick to reject and condemn Jesus, instead of wondering and learning from his works.
A Little Solidarity
All of us have to ponder the same question of Jesus’ identity. But the fact is that the answer to such questions of faith does not come by easily, especially when we search for it as a proof to satisfy our curiosity and prejudices. It is revealed to the simple. Jesus’ encounter with the people shows that the people did not condemn him for any work of his.
Rather, they condemned him for the affirmation of his unique relationship with his Father. Indeed, understanding the Jewish monotheism from the Shema – Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord … (Deuteronomy 6,4-9), – the profession of the oneness of God, whose transgression is a sin of blasphemy and unpardonable, one could say that Jesus quite “overstepped” ‘boundaries.’ But some deeper interest in Jesus or patience and solidarity with him from the Jews would have enabled them to see beyond Jesus’ words, or rather, to see the unity of his words and actions.
The miracles that he worked showed that there is something special about him. They were what the Father had given him to do. They were an indication of his unique relationship with the Father – that the Father is in him and he is in the Father. This knowledge called for wonder and astonishment.
Solidarity with Otherness
Jeremiah and Jesus were convinced of their identities and missions, irrespective of what the makers of the law or the law itself said. As the whole book of Deuteronomy shows, the essence of the profession of the ‘one God’ is the recognition of God’s lordship and the duty that accrues to it. All of Jesus’ action were geared toward making known the presence of the Kingdom of God on Earth. That is, the Kingdom of righteousness.
Prophet Micah offers an insight into the meaning of righteousness: “to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6,8). Jesus repeatedly pointed the people to the importance of the kingdom of righteousness. Had Jesus not firmly affirmed his unique relationship with the Father, his works would still do so. So, it is not a matter of his affirmation but the decidedness to perpetuate evil that led to his persecution. Most of the time too, we are unable to look at the larger picture, to engage, and to encounter the other horizons.
That of course, seems to be the order of the day in present human context. We recoil in our comfort and do not want to go beyond it. I pray that we could learn from Jesus to persevere in good works, and to be courageous to encounter the world beyond our own.
