Jesus Is Counting On Us

“𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟒𝟏)

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐉𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏:𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕:𝟐-𝟑, 𝟗-𝟏𝟐 “𝐎 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐦𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐠𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟕:𝟒𝟎-𝟓𝟑

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟒𝟏)

There is probably no one in this planet who is not looking for God or a god for that matter. Those who have been through thick and thin maybe looking for the One True God who could bring them out of the darkness they are in and into the marvelous light.

But there are some who will follow their own will and search for a god that comes in different forms and shapes. This god could be in the way of a career, wealth, fame, position and possessions and they have become so driven to achieve success and bring in the rewards of their labor and they put in all their trust in this god that has become their messiah.

And this Messianic search has been going on for ages and what was ironic was that the religious leaders in the olden days not only tried to kill Jesus who identified himself as the Messiah that the Jews have been waiting for, but they actually succeeded in putting him to death on the cross.

It is sad that this search for a god has spilled over even to the political arena because today we are no better than the Pharisees, Scribes and the Sadducees by our rejection of the person of Jesus Christ and we are crucifying him once again by our patronage of the laws that will destroy the flow of life.

It may also sound alien to the government functionaries who worked for the passage into law of the contentious RH Bill during the Aquino Administration and lately the pending legislation on divorce which unknown to the country’s legislators is a reenactment of the passion and death of Jesus Christ and this time there were not only three nails that were driven onto the hands and feet of Christ but 154 nails representing the number of Representatives who approved the proposed law on divorce.

Like the Pharisees we seem oblivious to the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in our midst that we are now also trying to kill the very source of Grace and our salvation.

In today’s Gospel reading we see the religious leaders saying: “𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕.” (𝒗.40) and others said, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕.” (𝒗.41) But the Scribes, Pharisees and the religious leaders do not know what to make out of Jesus. Having gotten used to the stringent laws they have imposed on the people, many of the Jews were amazed at the way Jesus taught at the synagogues. In fact, they were mesmerized by the kind of authority that Jesus exuded that introduced a new dimension to the Old Testament traditions that the Jews grew up with.

But this was as far as they would go, and they will continue to reject Jesus simply because he did not fit into the image they have created of the Messiah. In fact, these religious leaders and many of the Jews have become selective listeners. They perhaps agreed with what Jesus said but only if this will not compromise their position as teachers of the law.

While this was the pervading mood at the time, this culture of unbelief is still in vogue these days as there remains a certain degree of resistance to the Word of God, and it is not unusual to see that there are around us who still could not subordinate their human nature to God’s Will.

This is because the battle between good and evil is still raging and although Christ has already conquered the world, the evil one remains active and on the prowl like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟓:𝟖) which is why we need to be alert all the time to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟓:𝟗).

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah was also opposed by his own people because the words he spoke was not accepted by the people and they plotted to silence him and to “𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈.” (𝑱𝒆𝒓 11:19).

We may not be aware of it but we are also rejecting Jesus by shunting aside the beneficial value of his Gospel because his teachings do not sit well with us. The thing is we cannot remain indifferent when we come across the message of Christ.

Notwithstanding the abject refusal of the Jews to accept him as the Messiah his presence caused a division for many in Israel. There are those who believed he was a prophet, some said the Messiah and, some believed he was neither. The reaction of the temple guards who were sent to arrest Jesus was one of bewildered amazement.

They went to arrest him, and they returned empty-handed because “𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅.” (𝒗.46) but the reaction of the chief priests and the Pharisees was one of contempt. Contrary to this misdemeanor, the reaction of Nicodemus was at most timid. His heart moved him to defend Jesus, but his head told him not to take the risk.

This brings us to the question in the present form – “𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?” Having known him as the one who created us, who gave up his life and died on the cross to ransom us and who purchased us with his own blood, why is it that we cannot bring ourselves to submit to his Will and defend him from those who ignore him.

Because to stand up for Jesus will invite mockery into our lives. We can even become unpopular in the way we live our lives. To follow Jesus as a disciple would entail hardship, sacrifice, and suffering.

And in our lifetime, we will be confronted with choices from which we must choose from: 1) 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴; 2) 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥; 3) 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯.

There will be times when we will find ourselves wanting to defend Jesus when we hear him being mocked and ridiculed but we can’t seem to gather the boldness to do so because our lives do not mirror the authority that is needed for us to preach the Word of God in spirit and in truth.

In other words, we are incapable of defending Jesus because we do not want to risk the specter of being rejected ourselves. What we may be forgetting is what Jesus has said that he would confess before God the Father those who would confess him here on earth. Worst still is the probability that Jesus would deny before the Father in heaven those who would deny him on earth.

In this Lenten Season, it would be of immense benefit to us if we could spend some quiet time to ask ourselves if we are prepared to stand up for Jesus not only to defend him but to bring the Gospel of love to others. Are we prepared to give him honor and be loyal to him regardless of the cost to us?

When we hold back on our subservience to Jesus because we still could not dissociate ourselves from the world, we must remember that if we persist in doing this, we are losing our rights to earn a piece of the Kingdom of God that has been reserved for us.

The paradox of life is that it is through the cross of sacrifice and suffering that will earn for us an abundant life that is filled with eternal joy. This is why the cross is something we should not avoid but which we should embrace for our salvation depends on the cross.

Let me end with this quote from Pope Francis who said in one of his homily: “𝘔𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴; 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥'𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺: 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.” (Ed Malay – April 5, 2025)