As 21st century apostles, we too have to walk the talk
LENT 2020 - Day 38
Readings: Jer 20: 10-13; Ps 17: 2-4, 5-6, 7; Jn 10: 31-42
It's unbelievable how a prophet too has to undergo trials and tribulations like we do. Jeremiah describes his own so dramatically that some have called him "the weeping prophet". God had called upon him to prophesy and he did respond with a great sense of commitment. He spoke loud and clear of Israel's unfaithfulness to the laws of the covenant, as a result of which the kingdom would face famine; invaders would plunder Jerusalem and exile the people to a foreign land.
The text of the first reading is the last of Jeremiah's so-called confessions. It is in this one that he best translates the drama of his prophetic ministry. It is even as though Jeremiah suffers from a persecution complex; his accusations sound like the ramblings of a paranoid. But soon there is an overflow of ardour for God - "the Lord is with me as a dread warrior"- and his fears vanish into thin air. Truly, if God be with us who can be against us?
The sufferings of the Son of God weren't less agonizing. The Jews subjected our Lord to physical violence and verbal abuse. Whenever Jesus quoted the Scripture to assert His identity, some seemed ignorant or apathetic to His discourse. Of course, those in the know, like the rabbis and other learned men, deflected His arguments. So Jesus now expected them to judge Him at least by His good works. The populace didn't formally deny these but meanwhile charged Him with blasphemy, for which the Mosaic law prescribed death.
In a cutting rejoinder, Jesus quotes Psalm 82, in which God upbraids some judges for their unfair judgements, saying, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you". Jesus' point is that if this psalm calls them gods and sons of God, why won't God also call Him so whom He sanctified and sent into the world? But then, who can compel others to believe? Jesus revealed that He was God, but though they had ears they didn't listen to the revelation of the mystery of the Incarnate God.
That wasn't all. Since the testimony of Scripture didn't work out, Jesus returned to the argument of good works: "Though you do not believe me, believe the works." He knew that this would eventually take them to the Father in whose name Jesus accomplished those works. Besides, it is said that against facts there are no arguments. But still to no avail. The Jews stupidly rejected both His words (the Scriptures) and His works (prophecies and miracles), thus proving beyond doubt that they had closed minds.
Jesus worked yet another wonder. Although they'd sought to arrest Him, He escaped from their hands. And what's more, He did not stop preaching. There were others who needed Him, others ready to accept Him: those whom John the Baptist had prepared to accept Jesus were now waiting for Him across the Jordan. They remembered with nostalgia the truths of the faith that their catechist had taught them. They realised how right he was about his cousin Jesus Christ, and many believed in Him there and then.
So what is the take-away for us twenty-first century apostles? One, that a seed that is sown will one day bear fruit. The apostolate of presence is a great reality: if we show our readiness and do our best, God does the rest. Second, we should not feel discouraged or tire of doing our duty, in word or deed. Third, deeds are more eloquent than words. Or, according to a much-quoted adage attributed to the Italian saint Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." Well, se non è vero, è ben trovato! The long and short of it is that we have to walk the talk.
