Looking Deeper
Ever have an opinion that was unpopular with the crowd?
While some were saying, 'He is a good man,' others were saying, 'No, he is deceiving the crowd.' Yet no one would speak openly about him for fear of the Jews. - John 7:12-13
In today's Gospel reading, John gives us a slice of life that may sound all too familiar these days, though not about Jesus.
The lesson here is not about drawing parallels on a personal level, but to look deeper than that. Beneath the surface, those who sought to silence Jesus believed he was leading the people astray, because he was challenging the establishment.
The root of their faith, though, was the same as His. Jesus wanted his followers to understand the law and follow it, not because it was the law, but because the underlying intent of the law was right and just.
The Sabbath is a good example of something that got Jesus in trouble, even though he understood its purpose.
If I am to spend the day in God's presence, then anything I do that brings glory to God should be worth doing on that day. But the law was interpreted differently among the leaders of the faith, so to them, he was evil for allowing his followers to break the law.
Everyday, we feed needs and foster hope at Caritas. We do those things out of love, but it takes a decent amount of money to buy the food and pay for all the things we need to store it, prepare it and serve it.
Many who come to the table believe we receive support from the government to do this work. That is where they expect it to come from, so it makes sense to them. But the government is not involved.
Good people who care support and empower us, giving from their hearts and wallets so others may be fed and may bring food home for their families.
Whether you believe the government should do this work or not, I believe the people should know the truth, that it is personal, people helping their neighbors directly, donating time and money, volunteering and serving together.
If we look deeper than what we see on the surface, we may find that beyond all our differences, we want the same things for each other, food, clothing, a place to live, a job, a shot at the type of life we stand for in this nation.
So, maybe we should all do what Jesus did, and go down to be among the people, to hear and see for ourselves what it is like, what they have to say, what they need.
Come serve with us and discover we can stand together putting politics aside and doing the work God intends for all of us. And while we are doing the WHAT, we can discuss the HOW, since we will agree on one thing, the WHY.
More to come...