John
10:31-42
The
Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good
works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning
me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for doing a good work but
for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.’ Jesus answered:
‘Is
it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So the Law uses the word gods
of those to whom the word of God was addressed, and scripture cannot be
rejected. Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the
world, “You are blaspheming,” because he says, “I am the son of God.” If I am
not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing
it, then even if you refuse to believe in me, at least believe in the work I
do; then you will know for sure that the Father is in me and I am in the
Father.’
They
wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded them. He went back again to the far
side of the Jordan to stay in the district where John had once been baptising.
Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said
about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.
Food
for thought! Back to the beginning!
In
this text, there is a small detail that is worth noting about Jesus: "He
went back again to the far side of the Jordan to stay in the district where
John had once been baptising."
Why
did Jesus do this? Well, for Jesus the time was running out; he knew his hour
was approaching but was not yet. He would not recklessly court danger and throw
his life away; nor would he in cowardice avoid danger to preserve his life.
Jesus desired quietness before the final struggle. He always armed himself to
meet men by first meeting God. That is why he retired to the other side of
Jordan. He was not running away: he was preparing himself for the final
contest.
The
place to which Jesus went is most significant. He went to the place where John
had been baptizing, the place where he himself had been baptized. It was there
that the voice of God had come to him and assured him that he had taken the
right decision and was on the right way. That place was significant because
that is where it all began; that is where Jesus started his ministry.
There
is everything to be said about returning every now and then to the place where
we had the supreme experience of our life. When Jacob was up against it, when
things had gone wrong and badly wrong, he went back to Bethel (Gen.35:1-5).
When he needed God, he went back to the place where he had first found God.
Jesus, before the end, went back to the place where the beginning had happened.
It would often do our souls good to make a visit to the place where we first
found God, or where we first fell in love, or where we first met, or where we
first loved. In other words, never loose touch with your beginning; it is your
source of inspiration. When your life falls apart, remember to go to your
beginning, and start your life all over again.
But
not only Jesus went back to the source, the people too went: "Many people
who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man
was true’; and many of them believed in him."
Time
and again, we also get discouraged; we too loose faith and begin to doubt; we
too loose the initial fire of our love to the Lord and to each other. Many
couples have lost the initial fire of love and passion they used to enjoy. In
other words, we too need to go back to Jordan where it all started, where we
started our journey, where we got the initial inspiration, initial love and
passion. And if and when we do so, will be like the people in the gospel
reading, they became believers in Jesus. They adhered to and trusted in and
relied on Jesus again; they too were re-energized in their commitment.
Do
you think you need to go to your Jordan again? Where's your Jordan? Where did
you start? May be you need to revisit the place. May be. When things get tough,
we do well to go back to our Jordan and press the Reset button.
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