Thursday, April 7, 2011

4th Week of Lent, Friday, 08-04-11

Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 / John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30     (2020)

When I was studying theology in the Seminary, difficult as it was, I thought that I understood it reasonably well.

That was what I thought until I went to the parish and I had to teach catechism to children and teenagers.

Then I realized how little I knew and how little I understood, especially if I had to use simple language to get it across.

If understanding a subject like theology is difficult, then trying to understand a person is certainly no less easier.

And it would be easier to just make assumptions and presumptions and subsequently make conclusions about a person. That would also save a lot of time and energy.

And that was what they did to Jesus. From the little they knew about Him, they immediately made their conclusions.

Anyway, for someone preaching the dangerous message of love and claiming that God is His Father, He better be silenced. That was their assumption, presumption and conclusion.

And Jesus was silenced by their conclusions. But for just three days.

So as the 1st reading puts it : The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning.

We too could have said things about others with our misguided reasoning and silenced them with our conclusions.

We too could have said things about others that were based just on our assumptions and presumptions.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves why are we doing that so often.

When we realize how little we know about ourselves, then we will also realize how little we know about others, and also how little we know about God.