Gospel: John 7:40-53
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, “This is truly the
Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ will
not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be
of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So a
division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to
arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them,
“Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone
spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been
deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But
this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their
members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man
before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and
said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no
prophet arises from Galilee.” Then each went to his own house.
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Reflection:
What happens when we engage in useless self-centered debates or conversation?
The protagonist would try very hard to upstage each other. And then it will
turn ugly by trying to destroy each other’s reputation. No worthy outcome comes
out of it, only mudslinging and character assassination.
The crowd were debating about Jesus’ origin that it created division
within their ranks. They were trying to outdo each other in terms of their
knowledge about the origin of Jesus. Thoughts were running in their minds, such
as if Jesus was a prophet and the promised messiah. They were like little
children in a contest of arguments as to who amongst them had the best idea
about Jesus.
This scenario still exists today, many of us argue about Jesus to prove
that one has a superior knowledge about Him over the other. However, what would
we get if we argue? If we try to show that we know more than anyone else?
Nothing except a showcase of our arrogance, feeling of superiority and bloated
egos which results to more division and alienation.
Instead of arguing let us show through our works the love, humility,
mercy and compassion of Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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