John 11: 45-56
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.
Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Is Jesus Really Going to Show Up?
How often have you found yourself looking around, perhaps with others, wondering: “What do you think? Is Jesus really going to show up?”
I can relate. Perhaps not in these exact words, maybe not in words at all, but there can be an underlying feeling—sometimes it is longing, sometimes it is doubt, at times it’s both—that leaves us asking, is he really coming?
It can be the wars, the personal wounds we carry, the basic aches of daily life that leave us wondering why Jesus can seem to hide.
Whether it is doubt, longing, or both, this question is a sincere prayer whenever it arises in our hearts. Let us not be afraid of that question.
Tomorrow he will arrive, but on a donkey, which is to say that he is coming in the least expected and humble of ways. Perhaps accepting the desperation that leads to such honest questioning will help us accept him however he chooses to come to us.
—Billy Critchley-Menor, SJ, is a Jesuit of the Midwest Province; he writes on Substack at From Every Side and currently studies at Boston College.
Prayer
Lord, let everything I do in the coming Holy Week be inspired by You.
Help me to remember that nothing is important in my life unless it glorifies You in some way. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life.
Help me to enter fully into your Passion through my Lenten promises and always be reminded that You went to the desert, the garden and the cross for me.
Amen
—From the Divine Savior Holy Angels prayer book