March 6, 2005: Passing Through Their Midst

+ The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

There’s a well-known piece of advice that some folks like to give, and it’s this: you’ve got to go along to get along.

Of course, we understand that this means that you should be reasonable… maybe a little flexible… ready to compromise — not sell your soul to the devil, mind you, but it’s a good thing to bend a little for the sake of harmony… and basically engage in the approach of politicians: you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.

It sounds very Christian, doesn’t it? Working for peace… unity… fellowship.

But it’s not quite the Gospel that Jesus preaches.

You may remember Our Lord’s disturbing words: Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household (Mt 10, 34–36).

Today, St. Paul tells his flock in Ephesus the same thing: Live as children of light… Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them… (Eph 5, 8 and 11).

In other words, it is the duty of good Christian people to do the right thing. We’ve got to speak the truth, teach the truth, live the truth, even if it means terrible conflict. That’s because God’s truth is the path to God’s love — not some kind of peace that comes from a compromise with the truth.

And there, you see, is precisely why Jesus’ public life is marked with conflict after conflict. Oh, people thought He was great when he healed them or comforted them or worked a wonderful miracle in their midst.

But when He called them to task for their sinfulness or their hardness of heart, that’s when the swords came out.

Today’s Gospel illustrates just that. The Pharisees don’t care that Jesus healed the young man born blind. All they can see is that Jesus thumbed His nose at them by refusing to observe their interpretation of the Sabbath rest — which they said meant doing no work, not even life-giving, healing work. It infuriated them that Christ simply ignored them and their narrow-minded and erroneous opinion.

Now, there’s an interesting little side twist that flows out of all this:

When we do what Christ teaches — and what St. Paul teaches today — God is going to watch out for us and take care of us. We are shielded from harm.

In several places in the Gospels, Jesus finds Himself in a very tight spot. People are infuriated over something He’s said or done. Earlier this week, for example, we heard a Gospel at Mass where Jesus said that no prophet is welcome in his own home town. He went on to talk about the experiences of Elijah and Elisha who couldn’t work miracles for the Jews, their own people, but only the Gentiles were able to benefit. When Our Lord was finished speaking, the people were in a rage. They drove Him out of the synagogue and were going to throw Him over a cliff (Lk 4, 24–29). But listen to how this Gospel passage ends: But passing through their midst, He went His way (v. 30).

What exactly happened here? It’s kind of frustrating, because we don’t get any more information than that. How did Jesus pass through the midst of an outraged and menacing crowd bent on hurling Him over a cliff? Was it by the sheer force of His personality that no one would dare stop Him when He walked off? Or, did His disciples surround Him like a human shield of Secret Service agents to whisk Him away to safety?

Of course, we’ll never really know. It’s part of the great mystery of Jesus.

But even so, the Church reminds us that Jesus is like us in all things but sin… so perhaps that suggests that we, too, have the power to pass through our tightest jams in safety and be on our way.

Think about it. What have been the times that you’ve been in an awful spot? How did you get out?

Now, if you find yourself in a sticky situation because of your own sinful choices, well, maybe you’re on your own to work your way out. You know what I mean: getting caught in a lie, or caught cheating or stealing, or having some deception or dishonesty backfire on you… that’s too bad, but you made your own bed, as they say.

No, instead, I’m talking about the situations where you’re innocent and trying to do the right thing, but people get mad at you: for instance, working for justice or civil rights even when the people you’re trying to help aren’t today’s media darlings… standing up for life in the midst of a culture of death… defending Gospel values in what Jesus repeatedly calls “an evil and depraved generation.”

You can be sure that God will take care of you. He promised He would. He said, yes, you may be hated — even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death… Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives (Lk 21, 16–19).

So, you want to know how to get out of tight spots like Jesus did? Watch Him and study His life. Read and reflect on the Gospels. Go off to a quiet place and pray like He did. Strive to do right. Be forgiving and compassionate. Love even the unlovable.

And above all, have faith. St. Peter could walk on the water like Jesus until He said, “What am I doing?” and he panicked. We, too, can work our way out of any tight spot… and in fact, make it all the way to heaven — if only we believe.

What a joyful, uplifting message on this Laetare, or Rejoice, Sunday of Lent!

Today’s Readings:
1 Samuel 16, 1–13
Psalm 23
Ephesians 5, 8–14
John 9, 1–41