Rejection and Opposition

Homily for Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent

As we draw ever closer to Holy Week, the readings for our daily liturgy emphasize rejection and opposition. The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly the Prophet Jeremiah, knew rejection firsthand. They knew that by remaining faithful to God their very lives might even be at risk, often from those who once claimed to be friends. The prophets came to realize that they must trust solely in the Lord. They knew that no matter what befell them, the Lord would be champion and deliverer. No matter the test, God would be faithful.

After Jesus healed the man born blind in chapter nine and after he had told the Pharisees that they themselves were blind, Jesus launches into the discourse of the Good Shepherd in chapter ten. As we all know, in that discourse he proclaims that his sheep will know his voice. This remark seems to be directly connected to the man who had been given sight in the preceding chapter. It also resulted in the argument to that we hear in today’s reading from St. John’s Gospel. Because Jesus claims to be the Son of God, they take up stones with the intention of stoning him to death. They obviously did not believe Jesus even when he quotes from the Scriptures reminding them of God’s sacred and enduring words.

As we come to the end of our Lenten journey and prepare to enter into Holy Week, we see the truth of his words. Jesus reveals himself as both human and divine – the one sent and consecrated by the Father, the one who performs the Father’s works, the one in whom we should place our trust.

Throughout history, Christians have faced the threat of rejection and opposition. Unfortunately, many Christians have been killed because of such opposition. Today, we remember them and all that have gone before them as we pray for God’s continued faithfulness to the promises we have heard throughout the Gospels.