It’s not fair
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
John 7:40-53
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032126.cfm
Today’s gospel mentions Galilee a lot. The gospel writer of John really showcases Galilee as the area that welcomed Jesus and his ministry, and Jerusalem and the central place that despised Jesus and sought actions against him. Galilee is what you might consider as backwoods. The region was full of small agriculture and fishing villages that were heavily taxed by Rome. These areas too were heavily a melting pot between Jews and Gentiles.
The book of John has Jesus’s ministry start here with the ministry of Cana and includes miracles here like the feeding of the 5,000. It juxtaposes Jesus’s ministry as being for the people and the seat of religious authority in Jerusalem. Jeus was bringing the worlds of the Gentile and Jew together so this would have been fertile ground for that. In this gospel, the Pharisees question Jesus’s authority and reference that Jesus can’t be that special given where he is from and how that does not align with prophecy.
The gospel also shows that there was jealousy as to how people responded to Jesus. The guards are condemned because they are influenced by Jesus. I think the Pharisees wished that they were received by the community the way Jesus was. You can sense that they definitely thought that they were more deserving. On the surface, they appear to do all the right things. But those who focus on the surface, don’t always see the spirit that lies underneath. Jesus does not fit their image on the surface, but he is seen and known by people who were living authentically.
It’s easy to fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. We act in a certain way expecting certain results from others. When we see others who we see not putting forth the same effort as we do getting better results, we are prone to despise them. But ultimately, we’re not in competition. When it comes to matters of faith, it doesn’t matter if we are the ones who lead someone to conversion or it’s someone else. The important thing is that the person was converted. We’re not in competition. God is calling us to build the kingdom together. A house divided against itself can’t stand
