Scripture Notes: Hail (John 19)

One of the most horribly ironic lines in Sacred Scripture is spoken by the soldiers mocking Jesus as they crown Him with thorns. They proclaim, “Hail, King of the Jews!” as they strike Him. The word translated here as “Hail” is chaire in Greek. It is a common greeting, and “hail” is the usual translation, but deeper down, the word actually means “Rejoice!” So the soldiers are literally telling Jesus to rejoice as they crown Him with thorns and strike Him and mock Him. Yet little do they know, there is indeed cause to rejoice, not at the suffering of Jesus but at what He is accomplishing through that suffering, what He is showing us through that suffering: our salvation and His infinite love.

The soldiers address Jesus as King of the Jews, but they have no idea that they are actually speaking to the King of the whole universe, to the Creator and Ruler of the whole universe. The irony is thick and heavy. Jesus could literally annihilate them right then and there if He so chooses. He has full divine power over life and death and everything else. But He does not act or even speak. This King remains silent. He takes the abuse, and He loves the abusers. This King willingly chooses to hand Himself over, to give Himself fully, to suffer in the extreme, and all so that we might live in His kingdom. Now there is a reason to rejoice!

Scripture Notes: Prevented (Acts 16)

During his second missionary journey, Paul runs into some surprising opposition—from the Holy Spirit! He is traveling in Asia Minor and would like to spread out his evangelization in that area, but the Holy Spirit prevents him from doing so. Paul is simply not allowed to go where he thinks he would like to go. We do not know how the Holy Spirit acts in this matter. Perhaps it is through a series of mishaps or a strong sense that something is not right. Perhaps it involves more direct communication. The Bible does not say, but we know that the Holy Spirit deliberately prevents Paul from traveling where he wants. 

Why? God has another plan for this second missionary journey. One night, Paul receives a vision of a man from Macedonia (the guardian angel of that region perhaps?) pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now Paul knows why he was prevented from traveling in Asia. God intends for him to spread the Gospel in Europe instead. And he does. He sets out at once and begins a new stage of his journey, allowing God to direct him and obeying even when he does not understand. 

We have all experienced this in various ways when we do not get something we really want or feel blocked in our plans and goals. But just like God had something better in mind for Paul, something that  promoted His perfect plan, God has something better in mind for us, too, something that promotes His perfect plan for our lives, even when we cannot see it and do not understand. God has His reasons, and that is where our trust needs to become stronger. He can see so much further than we can. He knows the whole picture. We only know a little bit. So when we are prevented, God is acting for our good. We must imitate Paul and trust, accept, and obey. 

Scripture Notes: Blindness to Sight (John 9)

In John 9, Jesus heals a man born blind. This man has never seen anything. His world has been darkness his whole life. He has no concept of light or color or visible shape. So just imagine what happens when Jesus gives him his sight. Imagine how overwhelmed he must be. All of a sudden he is surrounded by a new world, a world he can see. He has so much to learn! Everything is fresh and wonderful. 

We may have trouble putting ourselves in this man’s place. After all, for most of us, the visible world is normal. We take it for granted. But once in a while, it may be a good idea to look at it with renewed eyes, to recognize the wonders that surround us every day, to drink in the beauty of light and color and shape, to thank God for the gift of creation.

But there is more. When Jesus opens the blind man’s eyes, He does it for real. He really gives this man his physical sight. But the act also points to another kind of blindness and sight, one that is spiritual. We are so often blind to the deeper realities that are all around us, the spiritual world, God’s actions in our lives, the miracles of grace and love. If we let Him, Jesus will open our eyes to these realities. He will give us our spiritual sight that we may see with our minds and our hearts and learn how to appreciate a whole new level of truth, goodness, and beauty. 

The blind man’s healing, however, is not automatic. Yes, it is completely a grace, initiated by Jesus, given freely by Jesus. The man does nothing to earn it, but he does have to consent and cooperate. He must accept Jesus’ action and obey Him when He says to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. We, too, must cooperate with Jesus if we are to gain our spiritual sight. We have to allow Jesus to work on us; we must obey Him when He commands us to do something; we must accept His gift and open our eyes wide to see what He wants to reveal to us. Then we, too, will be amazed and perhaps even overwhelmed by a whole new world.

Scripture Notes: Mordecai’s Prayer (Esther 13)

Mordecai finds himself with a big, red bull’s eye on his back in the Book of Esther. He has refused to bow down to Haman, the king’s prime minister, and now Haman is out to get him and all the Jewish people in the Persian empire. A date has been set for their total destruction. It seems inevitable, but Mordecai is not convinced of that. 

The first thing he does is turn to God in prayer. He begins by blessing God and acknowledging His rule. God’s power extends over the whole universe, for He has made all that is and maintains it in existence. Mordecai declares that if God wants to save Israel, then no one can oppose Him. He can do exactly as He wills, no matter what, and by saying this, Mordecai is reminding himself that it is true and expressing his trust in God even when times are difficult and frightening.

Mordecai then goes on to explain why he would not bow down to Haman. Perhaps he is feeling rather guilty for drawing the prime minister’s ire, but Mordecai does not dare set a human being above God. He does not dare to bow to anyone but God, fearing perhaps that his gesture would be mistaken for worship and that Haman would be thought of as God. Mordecai needs to set an example for his fellow Jews and for all people. God is God, and no human being can ever step into that role.

Mordecai now asks God to spare His people from destruction. Their foes are threatening them, and humanly, the situation seems impossible. But God has rescued them before. He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. And He can redeem them again, for the people are God’s portion, His inheritance, His covenant family, a nation of priests meant to bring Him to the whole world. So Mordecai begs God to hear his prayer and have mercy, to turn the people’s fear and sorrow into joy and celebration that they may praise Him forever.  

God answers Mordecai’s prayer, of course, but He does it using Mordecai and Esther as His instruments. He gives them a role to play in the deliverance of their people and the victory over their enemies. Mordecai and Esther must cooperate, through prayer, through courageous action, and through a trusting faith that no matter what happens, God is in control.

Scripture Notes: The Light of the World (John 8)

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  ake some time today to reflect on these words. Jesus shines the true light into the world, the light of God, the light of love, the light of life. And this life, zoē in the Greek, does not refer to physical, biological life but rather to a life that transcends the here and now. It is the taste of eternal life that we receive while we are still here in this world and then the eternal life that we will have forever with God in Heaven.

So we should ask ourselves today whether we are letting Jesus’ light shine into us. Are we following Him, or are we clinging to some darkness? Are we moving toward the light? Are we allowing it to fill us? Are we reaching out to eternal life? Or are we still focused too much on the life of this world? 

“I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Scripture Notes: An Interruption (Tobit 2)

Tobit is just sitting down to a festive meal on Pentecost. Even though he is living in exile in Nineveh (after the ten northern tribes were deported by the Assyrians), he does his best to keep the Law and the feasts of his people. He has sent his son, Tobias, out to invite some poor person to the meal. There is more than enough for the family to eat, and Tobit is more than willing to share. But Tobias returns with shocking news: “Look, Father, one of our own people has been murdered and thrown into the market place, and now he lies there strangled” (Tob 2:3).

Tobit cannot abide by such a situation. He interrupts his meal, hurries out, and moves the body to a safe place, intending to return after the festival to bury it (he will not do the actual work of burial in violation of the Law, which mandates a certain rest on the holy day). Necessity calls, and Tobit answers. He knows that God will understand and approve his action of moving the poor dead person out of the way to a spot where nothing will molest the body. Tobit returns to his meal, but the joy of the day is gone, for now he is mourning the death of this murdered man. Later that evening, Tobit buries the body, even at the risk of his own life, for the Gentile rulers do not approve of such actions and have threatened Tobit for doing them.

Interruptions. More often than not, they tend to annoy us. We do not like to be drawn away from something we believe to be important. Yet God can and does work through these interruptions. They can be a message from Him and an opportunity to follow His will by doing good for someone else. Tobit knows this, and he does not hesitate to respond readily to a call. He sets himself and his preferences aside, discerning that the interruption is actually God’s voice. So the next time we are interrupted, we might think about Tobit and about how God can use an interruption, as irritating as it might seem, to draw us beyond ourselves into His love.

Scripture Notes: Troubled (John 14)

On the night before He goes to the cross, Jesus tells His apostles many things, not the least of which is “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). Jesus knows that the men in front of Him will be shaken to their very core by what is about to happen, so He reassures them with strong words, vigorous words, words packed with meaning that can support a lifetime of reflection.

Hearts. In the Bible, the heart is the deepest part of a person, the seat of the will and the emotions and sometimes even the reason or intellect. So who we are is “located” in our hearts. And our hearts are often troubled. The Greek verb here is tarassō, and it refers to an inner turmoil, to be disturbed or stirred up or confused. At its more basic level of meaning, it refers to being shaken. So this kind of trouble is a certain agitation, a movement. Our hearts may feel like they are being rattled or rocked or churned, like our stomachs when they are sick. Our thoughts may dash about, unable to settle, jumping from one thing to another in our worries and fears. 

But Jesus tells us, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” He does not want to see us like this. The verb is actually an imperative, a command. Do not do this. Do not give in to this internal shaking. Put a stop to it. But how? “Believe in God” the Father, and “believe also in Me.” Faith is the answer. This faith is a deep and solid trust in God. It latches on to His promises and understands that He wants only the very best for us (and will give us that very best when we cooperate with Him). 

Notice, too, how Jesus tells us to believe in Him. This is a subtle yet strong assertion of His divinity. He is one with the Father. We must put our faith in Him even as we do in the Father. And when we do this, honestly, fully, without waffling, we will find that our hearts settle down, that they are less riled and shaken. It takes time. We will have setbacks, but trusting faith worked out in love by God’s grace will settle our troubled hearts.