He (Caliphas) prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on, they planned to kill him
(John).
In my freshman history class, the professor shocked his students from the Nebraska sticks by informing us that there were serious historical questions about whether Jesus had even existed.
While modern Biblical scholarship has debunked this notion, I thought about that lecture as I meditated on today’s gospel from John. Not only did Jesus exist, but the gospel also suggests that the religious authorities of the time thought he was powerful enough to threaten their arrangements with their Roman overlords. To avert this, the gospel asserts that they plotted to murder him.
Was there really such a conspiracy? It’s hard to say. For centuries, murky conspiracy theories have been invoked to explain historical events. Even though John must have heard and believed stories about a plot, he did not attend the meeting he describes, so he could not have had firsthand knowledge of what the authorities did.
But whether the authorities actually plotted to murder Jesus, we know he threatened them by flaunting some of their religious laws and customs. He talked to women, socialized with sinners, welcomed outcasts like lepers, and preached parables about the Good Samaritan. He prioritized radical love for all types of people above everything else, even if that meant ignoring a law or two from time to time, and his movement was growing.
Today, I ask myself whether we still threaten powerful establishments by prioritizing radical love for all people. Certainly, we’ve seen some of that recently in places like Minneapolis and Chicago, where people have risked their safety and security to aid immigrants-- the least of our brothers and sisters, in biblical terms. Countless other people like those in my own parish are devoting Lent to donating and collecting food for immigrant families who are afraid to leave their homes. They, too, are standing with their brothers and sisters.
What’s happening now echoes back to the Civil Rights and Vietnam protest movements when heroic Christians like the late Rep. John Lewis suffered greatly for standing up to unjust authorities. Years later, when Lewis wrote a book describing the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma in which he was badly beaten, Stephen Colbert interviewed him about it.
“Isn’t there an easier bridge for the rest of us to cross?” Colbert asked.
When I look at the generous people of my parish collecting food and similar efforts everywhere, I see them marching across that “easier bridge.” But the important thing is that they are CROSSING it. Blessings to all of you who have found such bridges to cross in the name of Jesus.
Eileen Wirth
I’m a retired Creighton journalism professor, active in St. John’s parish and a CLC member. In retirement, I write books about state and local history, including a history of the parish, and do volunteer PR consulting for groups like Habitat for Humanities, refugees etc. I love to read, work out, spend time with family and friends including those who can no longer get out much.
Writing reflections has deepened my faith by requiring me to engage deeply with Jesus through the Scriptures. In the many years I have been doing this, I’ve also formed friendships with regular readers nationally, most of whom I have never met. Hearing from readers and what I learn by writing make the hours I spend on each reflection well worth the effort.
