Thoughts from St. Andrew's Episcopal Church • Birmingham, AL

Friday, March 22, 2019

Old Testament: Jeremiah 5:1-9

Psalm 95, 69:1-23 (24-30) 31-38 * 73 

Epistle: Romans 2: 25—3:18

Gospel: John 5: 30 - 47

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 5:30

This reading from John 5 should not be read in isolation. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus performs a miracle on the Sabbath, much to the chagrin of the Scribes and the Pharisees. In John 5:17 “In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’” This essentially refutes the Chick-Fil-A, closed-on-Sunday, sanctimonious view of Christianity. Jesus points out that this notion is clearly absurd. Why shouldn’t miracles occur on the Sabbath? Like a medical emergency, one cannot schedule when one needs medical or divine intervention. As Jesus was standing up to the powers-that-be he had to choose his words carefully as the Scribes and Pharisees were intelligent and well-educated men who sought to catch Jesus in a trap. By equating himself to God, Jesus was committing heresy in their eyes. In this reading, Jesus made a perfectly worded declaration of his intent for the rest of his earthly life “For the works that the Father has given me to finish; the very works that I am doing; testify that the Father has sent me.”

Jesus then tells the Scribes and Pharisees in John 5: 39-40 “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” He is stating that they have lost their way spiritually and have lost sight of what really matters. The Scribes and Pharisees had become prisoners of rules and laws. The most telling verse is John 5:41-44 “I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” In our own professional and spiritual lives, we can, like the Scribes and Pharisees, become prisoners of rules and regulations, desire and give meaningless praise to our peers and use these to create barriers to coming to Jesus to have life and spiritual fulfillment.

Ewan Tytler