The readings for mass today are short, but painful. I’m sure most of us can relate to the words in all three of the readings for mass today. These words have probably been true for us as well, at some point in our lives even if it was a childhood experience. Children can be so cruel, when they taunt and tease other children on the playground who are different from themselves. If we were ever the victim of childhood taunts then it is probably easy for us to still recall those painful memories.
There just isn’t anything worse than having your own friends turn against you. Even as an adult you may have unexpectedly encountered a family member, friend, classmate, coworker or someone you are in ministry with, that found fault with you and turned against you for no good reason too. Trying to defend yourself in these kind of situations is almost impossible. People are going to believe what they’ve already decided to believe and we probably won’t prove our innocence or change their minds either, if their minds are already made up.
That is why we can take comfort in the scriptures, like the first reading from the book of Jeremiah today. He knows what it feels like, when he says “All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.” We can turn to this passage in the bible and find comfort with the words of a like minded soul, who has been through the same thing too. The scriptures are the best support group or guidance anyone can have, especially when there’s no one else around to talk to about it. But, we should follow the example of the prophet Jeremiah, and take this heart ache to the Lord in prayer first of all.
Psalm 18 is actually a prayer to the Lord in a very desperate situation, when everything seemed doomed and hopeless. God is our rock, our refuge, a shield from the painful wounds the world inflicts upon us. He is the stronghold of our lives and our only true strength. We can find this strength, aid and comfort in our prayers during the times of turmoil and suffering in our own lives.
And Jesus had more than his fair share of this. The turmoil and suffering is just beginning for him, in today’s gospel. Can you imagine a crowd of angry people ganging up on you with stones in their hands? That doesn’t happen in this day and age, but people do gang up on others pretty often with harsh words, instead of stones. The words hurt just as much as the stones.
Our Lord Jesus does try to defend himself. His humanity and his divinity are both very profoundly present in today’s gospel. He made an excellent point when he asked them to consider his works. Jesus taught us that a person is known by their fruits and his miracles and healings were the most excellent fruits the world has ever known. Jesus tried to find a way to get them to understand the truth that the Father really was in Him and he was in his Father. The Holy Trinity is something to this day, that the average person also has trouble understanding. The Jews couldn’t take their eyes off Jesus long enough to see the truth though. Their anger got the best of them.
Jesus got away. “He escaped from their power.” It seems almost impossible that the son of God should be running away from the religious leaders so he wouldn’t be stoned to death or arrested by them, but that is what happened.
If you read the end of the gospel closely perhaps you can get a sense of the humanity of our Lord. Jesus’ heart must have been broken, because he went back to the place where it all began. He returned to the place where John first baptized. Is it possible this was the same place, where our Lord himself was baptized? When his Father said “this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”?
When we are deeply hurt, sometimes we also seek a place, a special place that we are emotionally attached to as well. A place at the lake, a childhood home, our grandparents house, somewhere that we once knew love in a deeper way. That love comforts us in that place, when we remember it and feel connected to it again.
Jesus sought the place where His father first acknowledged Him as His son. He must have needed to seek comfort in His Father. His solace was in His Father. And that is where he brought his heartache. To a place, to a person who was comfortable and familiar and who loved him unconditionally.
We should remember this. Jesus has shown us where to find solace when we are hurting too, when we need comfort and to be reminded of God’s love for us too. We need to turn to our Father in prayer and in solitude. God is our safe haven too. He loves us unconditionally and accepts us just as we are, in any condition or situation we find ourselves in. He will be our solace and our comfort and He is always there for us. When we reach for Him in prayer, He always reaches back for us.
Daily Mass Readings:
Jeremiah 20:10-13 / Psalm 18:2-7 / John 10:31-42
