Reflection for April 12 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent: John 11:45-56

Gospel: John 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” 

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish. He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he 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. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves.

They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?

+ + + + + + +

Reflection:

What would be your reaction if someone you know achieved greatness? Would you envy them and eventually decide to bring them down? Or would you be happy for their success and even wish them more?

Because of His many miracles, Jesus was already becoming popular among the people, especially the poor. The ruling authorities (chief priests and the Pharisees) felt threatened by Jesus' growing popularity. So, they did what they thought was necessary to silence Him. They hatched an evil plan to kill Jesus, thinking that if He died, His popularity would die with Him. But it did not happen that way—their plan did not go as they intended.

What if the chief priest and the Pharisees had not envied Jesus? What if they had simply chosen to have a dialogue with Him so they could work hand in hand to help the poor? They could have been agents of positive change in the lives of the poor. But instead, they allowed the devil to sow envy and greed in their hearts. And so, they carried out a despicable plan to kill Jesus.

Can envy and greed do us any good?

No, they cannot. They will only push us to do evil, just as they did with the Pharisees. Let us therefore weed out any feeling of envy and greed in our hearts. Instead of being envious, let us be happy for those who succeed. Instead of being greedy, why not become generous? — Marino J. Dasmarinas