Thursday of the Fourth Week in LentTime
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First Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Spiritual Liquid Plumber

Reflection:

I know this is a reflection on the scripture for Thursday, but I want to start off with another prayer for Michael. If you have been following this log lately, you know Michael is a 50 something father of three who is currently at the U of M Hospital waiting for a liver transplant. When Michael and I first started our dialogue he was in a place of fear and pain.

While his prognosis has not really improved (he is still waiting for the transplant that will hopefully put him on the road to a full recovery) his spiritual health has take a remarkable turn to the better. When I spoke with him at the hospital this evening he told me his boys were there with him and he was feeling much better. The doctors had told him that if he continued to improve he could go home with his sister tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's just the help they have been giving him at the U (they are amazing) or if it's our prayers coupled with his new found acceptance of God's healing gifts. It's probably a combination. He's talking now about how, since we have been talking about letting God come into his life and help him, he has been feeling so much better. It's got to contribute to his overall recovery.

It's also quite possible that, because I have started really focusing on the scriptures each day that God has been able to put that saving grace in front of him as well. Whenever we speak I generally mention what the readings for the day had for him. (the miracle stories could not have come at a better time.)

Although I have rambled about Michael above, it is appropriate in light of the Gospel we are given today. Jesus (linked to Moses in the reading from Exodus and the Psalm in the Golden Calf) is speaking about faith – specifically faith in Him and the Father who sent him. Jesus tells his audience that his (Jesus') works are a testimony from the Father. He would be able to do nothing if it were not given from above. That faith theme pops right up to meet us in mid-lenten stride. What ever we accomplish is done only with God's assistance and through his strength. We can only be the conduit of that will. And, just like a physical conduit, we must be open and clear for God's will to move through us.

That is part of what the Lenten discipline should do for us. Open us up, clear out the blockages of sin and disbelief and allow us to be effective in transmitting God's will to those around us. I guess you could call it roto rooter for the soul or perhaps spiritual liquid plumber. In any case, it is through us that God has chosen to work and in return, what a reward we will receive, both now and in the life to come. Pax

I welcome your comments. If you would like to make one and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and, if you wish, I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.

Scripture[1] from Ex 32:7-14
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
7 With that, the LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved.
8 They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
9 I see how stiff-necked this people is," continued the LORD to Moses.
10 "Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation."
11 But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand?
12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth'? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people.
13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
14 So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.
7-14. Yahweh informs Moses of the people's sin; these verses must originate from a source other than that of v. 18, where Moses appears ignorant of what is happening in the camp. Yahweh has divorced himself from this sinful people, for he refers to them as "your people." He intends to destroy the wicked and form a new nation. Moses now assumes the role of mediator and appeals to God's honor for his own name before the pagan nations as a motive to prevent the destruction of his people. As a second motive, Moses recalls the prom­ises accorded to Abraham. We note, however, the subsequent conflicting elements of the punishments in­voked by Moses (32:20,25-29) and the testimony of Yahweh (32:34).
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968

Scripture from Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
Jerome Biblical Commentary
19 At Horeb they fashioned a calf, worshiped a metal statue.
20 They exchanged their glorious God for the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot the God who saved them, who did great deeds in Egypt,
22 Amazing deeds in the land of Ham, fearsome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 2 He would have decreed their destruction, had not Moses, the chosen leader, Withstood him in the breach to turn back his destroying anger.
2 [23] Withstood him in the breach: the image is that of Moses standing in a narrow break made in the wall to keep anyone from entering.

Ps 106. An historical Ps, conceived in terms of a national lament (cf. 105). Structure: 1-5, the sum­mons to praise God and a prayer for Israel's prosperity; 6-46, the confession of sins, present and past, against the background of the Exodus tradition (7-12), greed for quail (13-15), Dathan and Abiram (16-18), the golden calf (19-23), the desert murmuring (24-27), Baal of Peor (28-31), Meribah (32-33), the conquest (34-39), the judges (40-46); 47, the conclusion, a prayer for restoration. In this exilic Ps, history is not used for a recital of praise but as an expression of sorrow (as 6 indicates). The spirit and mood of a lament move through the historical periods as the author emphasizes disobedient and faithless aspects of Israel. Weiser has pointed to the sequence of praise-confession in the Qumran "manual of discipline"; this sequence is seen also here and in Ps 105. 19. Horeb: The deuteronomic name for Sinai; the Ps shows the general influence of Dt. The murmuring in the desert (24-27) is associated with the Exile in 27, and the present Exile is an appropriate punishment for those who "despised" the land (24).
Scripture from Jn 5:31-47
Jerome Biblical Commentary
31 "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified

The assertions in the foregoing now require a justification; we re-encounter the Johannine theme of testimony (see comments on 1:7; 1:15; 4:39). 31. Jesus accepts the general principle in human jurisprudence: A man is not to be taken simply at his own word; he needs the testimony of others (however, see comment on 8 :14).
32 But there is another 12 who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
12 [32] Another: likely the Father, who in four different ways gives testimony to Jesus, as indicated in the verse groupings John 5:33-34, 36, 37-38, 39-40.
32. Jesus has such a witness, whose testimony he will reveal in a moment (v. 36ff.).
33You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
34 I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved.
35 He was a burning and shining lamp, 13 and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
13 [35] Lamp: cf Psalm 132:17--"I will place a lamp for my anointed (= David)," and possibly the description of Elijah in Sirach 48:1. But only for a while, indicating the temporary and subordinate nature of John's mission.
33-35. The testimony of this witness is greater than that of the Baptist (1:7). The Baptist's testimony was quite valid; though he was not the light (1:8), he was a lamp il­luminating the darkness, pointing to the true light (Ps 132:17), and the Jews themselves must testify that John had been accredited among them as a prophet, a voice of God (cf. 1:19; Mk 1:5; Mt 3:5; 11:7; 21:26). Still, valuable though it might be, this is not the testimony to which Jesus appeals.
36 But I have testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.

36. Jesus' witness is the Father himself: The works that he performs, both his words of life and the deeds that he does, which are the Father's gift to him (v. 20), manifestly show that he has been sent by God (cf. 14:11).
37 Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

37. The works, however, remain only indirect testimony. the Father who sent me has given testimony on my behalf: Jesus refers to the interior testimony God gives to those who have true faith (cf. 1 Jn S :9f.; Rom 8 :16). his voice: In Jesus' words the voice of God is discerned by those who are responsive to God's grace; by contrast, those now listening to him by their disbelief are blind and "have not seen what he is like" (cf. 1:18).
38 and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

38. his enduring word you do not have in your hearts: This repeats the idea of the preceding verse. However, John probably intends a subtler significance by his choice of words to reproduce our Lord's thought: The "enduring word" (logon menonta) of God not possessed by the disbeliever contrasts with the Incarnate Word who abides (menein) with his disciples (c£ 1:39; 15:3).
39 You search 14 the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.
14 [39] You search: this may be an imperative: "Search the scriptures, because you think that you have eternal life through them."

39. The verb is probably indicative rather than imperative. you search the scriptures in which you think you have eternal life: The OT Scriptures, however, could only lead to Jesus (cf. Gal 3 :24), in whom alone life is to be found (cf. vv. 21, 26; 1:4,17; Gal 3:21). they also give evidence on my behalf: Rightly used, the Scriptures would not stand in the way but would rather lead the believer from themselves to Christ.
40 But you do not want to come to me to have life.

40. This verse contains the transition from the question of testimony to the subject of the final verses of this section-a subject that was actual both for Jesus and for the early Church: the incredulity of the Jews (cf. 12:37ff.). The point is made at the outset that this incredulity on the part of the Jewish leaders was willful.
41 "I do not accept human praise; 15
42 moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
15 [41] Praise: the same Greek word means "praise" or "honor" (from others) and "glory" (from God). There is a play on this in John 5:44.
41-42. It is not because Jesus seeks human glory (cf 8:50) that he criticizes his listeners for their unbelief; rather, it is that their unbelief demonstrates that they have no true love of God. They prefer their own will to God's.
43 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.

43. in my Father's name: See com­ment on 1:12. The rejection of Jesus amounts to the rejection of the testimony of God. But any charlatan who comes along, armed only with his own credentials, will be accepted, provided he accords with precon­ceived ideas. Jewish history in this period was not unacquainted with false messiahs (cf. Acts 5:35ff.; Mk 13:6,22 par.) who succeeded in firing national aspirations. This ultimately, resulted in the rebellions against Roman rule that ended in the suppression of the Jewish state in Palestine.
44 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

44. Thus having rejected the glory of God (see comments on 1:14; 2:11) in favor of the glory that comes from men (cf 12:43; Mt 23:5ff.), they have made it impossible for themselves to believe (cf. 12:39).
45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.
46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.
47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"
45-47. It will therefore be unnecessary for Christ, to whom judgment has been given (v. 22), to appear before God to denounce them; they stand self­ denounced by their obduracy. Moses, here taken as author of the OT revelation, will himself denounce them, since the OT itself has pointed the way to Christ (v. 39).