Stuck

Sometimes we have our own ideas about what could be true.

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” - John 7:37-52

In today's reading from John's Gospel, we get the impression that the Pharisees would believe if Jesus came from Bethlehem and not from Galilee, but would they?

Accepting the fact that the Messiah had come would mess everything up for them.  Their very existence depended on the anticipation of the coming, and they had not prepared for the possibility the Messiah would actually arrive in any form, regardless of where he was from.

So, how does this point to what we accept and believe today?

I can think of one example that is close to home for me.  I work for a non-profit that feeds the hungry.  Our very existence depends on the need for food.  What if, one day, people could get all the food they needed?

Would we just shut down?

We could, I guess, but probably would not.  Instead, we would reinvent ourselves and find another mission to tackle.  Or we would be like the Pharisees, in denial, and try to prove the solution to our problem was false or temporary.

When we are so invested in the present situation, it is hard to accept change.  We become stuck.

The Pharisees were stuck and they wanted others to remain stuck with them, so they denounced Jesus.

we can condition ourselves to be open to the unexpected by imagining solutions and scenarios that are a bit out there.  If we ask ourselves, "What if?" we might find that anything is possible.

It may not be probable, but who knows?

More to come...