BELIEF AND LOYALTY
Jesus does not want to win us over with logic and arguments, but rather
with the loving power of His presence.
Two persons can
examine the same evidence from an event and come to entirely different
conclusions. Jesus and the Jews in the Portico of Solomon show this clearly.
The Jews tell Jesus to lay all the cards on the table and demonstrate to them
that He is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Son of God. But Jesus replies
that He has already done that, and they, by choice, have rejected His logic
and, more importantly, rejected Jesus Christ.
The saints and holy
people that have gone before us have shown us over the centuries that belief
and loyalty are two sides of the same coin. Being a follower of Jesus Christ
does not consist essentially in reading, studying and agreeing with everything
that is written. Jesus does not want to win us over with logic and arguments,
but rather with the loving power of His presence.
In today's Gospel
of John, we hear the words of Jesus, "My sheep hear My voice; I know them,
and they follow Me" (Jn 10:27). Jesus speaks of the tremendous trust that
He has for the Father, and that we also should have for the Father. A sheep
without a shepherd is defenseless. That is why shepherds literally live with
their sheep out in the open fields. The shepherd guards the sheep against
dangers of storms, floods, and other animals that want to destroy them. The
shepherd also leads the sheep to the best places for feeding and drinking fresh
water. This is the best part of it all: the sheep recognize the voice of their
shepherd and listen to his call which leads them to safe pastures. We are like
sheep. We need Jesus to free us from sin and death. He leads us to the best
places where we can feed on the "Word of God," and drink from the
"living waters" of His holy presence in our lives. We the sheep who
listen to the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will have no fear because He
leads us to the best place: the place that is everlasting!