Jesus and Nicodemus (Chapter 3:1-21) (Part 2)

Posted on June 20th 2010 in St. John's Gospel

The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus now broadens out into one between Christians and Jews with Jesus taking the initiative. St John, whilst writing the ‘history’ of Jesus, was simultaneously addressing the issues of Christian self-identity in relation to rejection from the synagogue and official Judaism.

Jesus begins this second part of His conversation by gently chiding Nicodemus on his inability even to recognise the origins of earthly phenomena as a precursor to the revelation of heavenly realities. Nicodemus’ ignorance of such earthly phenomena as the wind should inspire a humility with regard to his religious knowledge.

Jesus can reveal the secrets of heaven because of His identity as the Son of Man, who has His origin in heaven. The self-description of Jesus as the Son of Man is rich in meaning. The title, ‘Son of Man’, was mentioned both by the Prophet Daniel as the harbinger of the Final Judgement and also by the Prophet Isaiah who describes Him as taking on the sins of the people.

This revelation of Jesus’ identity will involve His lifting up, in other words His death on the Cross. This lifting-up, similar to that of the bronze serpent in the desert, will have salutary consequences, this time of a spiritual nature, namely eternal life.  The Greek word for lifting up, upsothenai, also carries a spiritual meaning of ‘exultation’ and, as an act of God, this lifting-up should generate faith and with this eternal life.

This public act of God, the visible crucifixion of Jesus, demands a human response to the reason behind the Cross, the love of God for the world. The mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, was to offer life to those who recognise their need for this life. Such people recognise they are living in the dark, but wish to step into the light. Many however express no interest and so, in terms of the Gospel, prefer to live in the dark. In this way they are passing judgement upon themselves. The world, therefore, is an ambiguous place, and the individual is either heading out into the light with the recognition of Jesus’ identity or heading further into the dark of his or her moral certainty.

Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ identity is a first step marking a new stage in the journey of faith

Posted on June 20th 2010 in Weekly messages

This Sunday, and the following, brings to a conclusion the recent Adult Confirmation  course for Converts. Over the last four months this group has been meeting in the Presbytery to reflect on the different building blocks that comprise the Catholic faith. All these parts refer back to the centre, Jesus Christ. Therefore it is fitting that this Sunday’s Gospel recounts the question Jesus asked His disciples as to His true identity. This is the key question because a Christian, defined as a follower of Jesus Christ, should strive to grasp the identity of Jesus. This is not an abstract question, a subject of theology, but one of personal conviction. Every relationship requires within it the dynamic to know the other, which is satisfied both by real knowledge and by the ability to trust. The dynamism towards personal knowledge is the fuel that powers all friendship, and so any relationship based on either an inability to speak the truth, or on a lie, is destined to failure.

The road to knowledge is never smooth and hits different crunch points on the way. Today’s Gospel reflects this in the realms of faith and commitment. Jesus begins by asking in a third person sort of way, and the disciples give general vague and non-committal answers. Obviously these are not satisfactory and Jesus asks again, this time addressing Peter personally, just as he does to us, ‘Who do you think I am?’ Peter takes a decisive step, inadequate as it turns out, of stating that Jesus is the Messiah, the figure of national salvation, that is someone who, under the inspiration of God, would usher in a period of national renewal. Jesus does just this but in a way unimaginable to the one who just uttered this statement. Here lies the beauty of the teaching of the Church, which preserves this continuing surprise as to the person of Jesus. The dogma of the Church about the person of Jesus Christ may be seen as the successful attempt to prevent Jesus being ‘shrunken down’ to our level, however superficially attractive such a vision might be.

Jesus starts the long process of correction that will occupy the remaining time of His public life. He begins by uniting the title ‘Messiah’ to that of the ‘Son of Man’, the representative figure who will suffer on behalf of the nation. This Son of Man is the Suffering Servant of the prophet Isaiah, but also the figure of the last days, as described in the prophet Daniel. Jesus amalgamates all these different images into Himself, in a way that defies full rational explanation, but which makes sense in faith.

The ‘Son of Man’ is a figure of destiny, the person to whom events happen. He will be crucified, put to death, and finally raised to life. Behind this seeming passivity lie both the active co-operation of Jesus, and the mysterious will and power of God. The passivity of Jesus will be contrary to the self-assertion of the disciples and Peter in particular. However, it will not be an inert passivity. Jesus is still teaching, healing, sharing life together and walking towards Jerusalem.

This passive-active relationship determines the personal meaning of carrying the Cross, a way of life to which every Christian is asked to embrace through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Christian is not asked to undertake this walk alone, but in the power of God’s love, the Holy Spirit, and within the solidarity of the Church. This will take different forms within all our lives, but the basic parameters have been laid out in the public life of Jesus.

The Cleansing of the Temple (2:13-25) Part 2

Posted on May 30th 2010 in St. John's Gospel

The cleansing of the Temple is the second public act of Jesus and sets the tone for the rest of the Gospel. The explicit replacement of the Temple with Jesus Himself as the place to worship God will only be possible through the destruction of His Body on the Cross. Jesus seems to invite His persecutors to achieve this end and see what would happen. This glimpse of His inner conviction at the start of His public life emphasises that, though He preached a message of God’s mercy, the reality of judgement and opposition is never far behind. The opposition found in St John’s Gospel is something that is both humanly wilful and divinely predicted.

Jesus’ actions demonstrate that He is the gift that replaces the former one, a theme found in the Prologue: ‘though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ’ (v17). The Evangelist explicitly mentions that the disciples remembered his words, thus demonstrating that the Old Testament finds its fullest meaning through the Resurrection of Jesus. The place to worship God is now the new Temple, Jesus Christ, and the Church understands itself as the Body of Christ. The Church then is the living subject to whom the whole Bible is entrusted, since the whole Bible itself looks to Jesus Christ.

The passage ends with the Evangelist pointing out the inadequacy of faith focused on signs alone. Jesus refuses to be caught up with this type of public religion. All authentic religion must stem from the pure heart’s response to the Word. The exterior preaching matched an interior purity. Jesus’ glory will remain largely hidden until His public crucifixion.

The Gospel now explains (chapters 3 and 4) three different contemporary responses to the Miracle at Cana, and the Cleansing of the Temple. The first is from the world of Judaism, Nicodemus a leading Jewish official who comes to visit Jesus at night; the second from the  Samaritan woman, and the third a pagan official. Each has a particular journey of faith to overcome their own limitations in order to discover the full meaning of Jesus’ message.