Yes? or No?

4^th Week of Easter (W)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP

St. Albert the Great, Irving

So far this week, we've heard Jesus say that his is the only name given for the salvation of the human race. That he is the Good Shepherd and the only gate to the sheepfold. That his work is the Father's work and those given to him by the Father will never be lost. And this morning, he says, “...what I say, I say as the Father told me.” Setting aside for the moment the sheer, unadulterated audacity of these claims, setting aside their clarity and exclusivity – what motivates these claims? Why is Jesus saying these things in public? He has to know he's drawing the attention of some powerful people. He has to know that he's playing with political and religious hand grenades. He's stirring an already boiling pot, and he seems to be doing it with a great sense of peace. So, why is he doing it? The answer, I think, lies in a part of John's gospel that didn't make it into the lectionary. The passage immediately before today's passage: “...many, even among the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly in order not to be expelled from the synagogue. For they preferred human praise to the glory of God.”

The clear, audacious, and exclusive claims we've heard this week – that Christ Jesus is the only salvation – force a stark choice on his audience: believe in me, or do not. There's no hiding in ambiguity; no skirting around the issue with clever philosophical dodges; no “well, what he really meant to say is. . .” It's yes, or it's no. Jesus knows the stakes at play. He knows that his mission isn't to create a vibrant community of sensible, moral people who like one another (more or less) and who get together once a week to sing happy songs and recall fond memories of his good deeds. His mission is to establish a living, breathing body of emboldened witnesses who will go out into the world and – if necessary – die, spreading the Good News of the Father's love of and mercy to sinners. This is not a mission founded on carefully parsed verbiage calibrated to appeal to the comfortable and the secure. It's a mission calculated to sting the world and draw attention. A mission to sear the conscience and demand a commitment. Yes or no. We see clearly the answer he himself gave [point to crucifix]. The rest of your life is your answer. Yes? Or no?    

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