Bountiful Spirit -April 3, 2021
John 11:45–53
Many of the Jews 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.
Reflection by Ben Rubendall
One of the easiest things to do is find good reasons for doing bad. A hurtful remark can be justified as, “I have to tell the truth.” Neglecting those in need becomes, “I have other, better priorities.” Not supporting the Church becomes, “you can’t expect me support a bunch of sinners like ‘xxxx’ and ‘yyyy’.” And “don’t expect me to help them out. They got into this mess themselves through their own bad decisions.”
Remember the Son of God laid down his life to save each one of us, sins, excuses and all. He didn’t try to save a nation or a denomination, he made his sacrifice to save each one of us as individuals. Can we do any less?
