Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Readings: Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47
20 March
“When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him.” (John 7:40-43)
Reflection
The people are in confusion yet again. As noted elsewhere, confusion can be a normal state of affairs when it comes to God. We are called to a reorientation of priorities and a willingness to leave behind our security and walk towards the one who alone can sustain us (Matthew 14:22-33). It can be disorienting.
Of course, a significant problem is always, ‘even if I want to do what God wants, how do I know what that is?’ Because we are not sure how to proceed, we may settle for doing our best, and we live in the hope that ultimately that will be good enough. Perhaps it will be, and perhaps not.
We do not have to do this alone. Our perspective is always limited when it comes to the things of God, which is why we are to be always open to hearing what other people have to say. Not because they understand God any more than we do, but because together, we have a chance of feeling our way towards a more in-depth understanding.
Learning to know God is central to the Christian experience. This involves more than merely attending Church. As G.K Chesterton famously quipped: ‘just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car’. If we are to understand and cooperate with God’s plan to work in and through us to reveal his kingdom, we must make our intimate connection with God a central focus in our lives.
Reflection by Shane Dwyer.
Reproduced with permission from Evangelisation Brisbane, an agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, who have kindly supplied these daily Lenten 2021 reflections from their publication Look to Jesus: 52 Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter.
