“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth.”

“Your theology won't always work toward your obedience, because your use of theology is dictated by the condition of your heart. If your heart is not submitting to the plan of God, you will actually use your theology to justify things that should not be justified.”  - Paul Tripp: a pastor, author and conference speaker

Gospel Text: (JN 7:1-2, 10, 25-30)

Jesus moved about within Galilee;

he did not wish to travel in Judea,

because the Jews were trying to kill him.

But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,

he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,

"Is he not the one they are trying to kill?

And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.

Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?

But we know where he is from.

When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."

So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,

"You know me and also know where I am from.

Yet I did not come on my own,

but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.

I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me."

So they tried to arrest him,

but no one laid a hand upon him,

because his hour had not yet come.

Do we see novelty in the Gospel message? How relevant is the Gospel message in our modern world?

Unbelief is never cheap; it costs more than it pays.

“We often fail to believe that God is who He says He is. We do not believe that God will really do what He has promised to do; we suspect that God might not know or will not do what is best for us; and we doubt the way that God has ordered the world. When we believe lies and choose to sin, we experience emotional consequences such as depression, anger, anxiety, hopelessness, and many others.”

Gospel Text: (JN 5:31-47)

Jesus said to the Jews:

"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.

But there is another who testifies on my behalf,

and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.

I do not accept human testimony,

but I say this so that you may be saved.

He was a burning and shining lamp,

and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.

But I have testimony greater than John's.

The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,

these works that I perform testify on my behalf

that the Father has sent me.

Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.

But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,

and you do not have his word remaining in you,

because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.

You search the Scriptures,

because you think you have eternal life through them;

even they testify on my behalf.

But you do not want to come to me to have life.

"I do not accept human praise;

moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.

I came in the name of my Father,

but you do not accept me;

yet if another comes in his own name,

you will accept him.

How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another

and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:

the one who will accuse you is Moses,

in whom you have placed your hope.

For if you had believed Moses,

you would have believed me,

because he wrote about me.

But if you do not believe his writings,

how will you believe my words?"

Today's reading challenges us to confront our tendencies toward unbelief and the role that belonging to a group may play in those tendencies.   Although we may wish to define ourselves distinctly as individuals, we are also infused with a deep desire for belonging.  We are wired for community.  While that desire is good, it can also get us into deep confusion when the group loses its way.  In that sense, we are very much like sheep:  we need a shepherd to rescue us. 

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”

True happiness is to rejoice in the truth, for to rejoice in the truth is to rejoice in You, O God, who are the truth... Those who think that there is another kind of happiness look for joy elsewhere, but theirs is not true joy. – St Augustine: (354 - 430: was an early Christian theologian and philosopher)

Scripture Text: (IS 49:8-15)

Thus says the LORD:

In a time of favor I answer you,

on the day of salvation I help you;

and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,

To restore the land

and allot the desolate heritages,

Saying to the prisoners: Come out!

To those in darkness: Show yourselves!

Along the ways they shall find pasture,

on every bare height shall their pastures be.

They shall not hunger or thirst,

nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;

For he who pities them leads them

and guides them beside springs of water.

I will cut a road through all my mountains,

and make my highways level.

See, some shall come from afar,

others from the north and the west,

and some from the land of Syene.

Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,

break forth into song, you mountains.

For the LORD comforts his people

and shows mercy to his afflicted.

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me."

Can a mother forget her infant,

be without tenderness for the child of her womb?

Even should she forget,

I will never forget you.

The reading from the prophet Isaiah is that message of hope in the desert. A reminder of the covenant that was given to us though our ancestors of Salvation History. A message that calls us out of darkness and out of imprisonment. In the Scriptures these two things are not always literal. We can be in the dark about many things, especially ourselves. We can be imprisoned by our fears, addictions, or an abusive situation. Isaiah reminds us that God does not forget the sons and daughters that he has created out of love. It is this relationship that we have with God that is cause for much rejoicing. We are not forgotten! We are not alone! Isaiah reminds us that we are “comforted” and “shown mercy”. This mercy and love is beyond any that can be shown by the best of humans. It exceeds all human capabilities. It is one of those “mysteries of God” that is difficult to wrap one’s mind around. And it is good to be reminded from time to time that God is kind, merciful and loving. God wants us to be happy!

"If a Christian is not having tribulation in the world, there's something wrong!"

“A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed —  what gospel is that?” – Archbishop Oscar Romero: (1917 –1980: was the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador. He spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. In 1980, Romero was assassinated while offering Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence.)

Gospel Text: (JN 5:1-16)

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate

a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.

In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.

One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there

and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,

"Do you want to be well?"

The sick man answered him,

"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool

when the water is stirred up;

while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."

Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.

So the Jews said to the man who was cured,

"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."

He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,

'Take up your mat and walk.'"

They asked him,

"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"

The man who was healed did not know who it was,

for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.

After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,

"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,

so that nothing worse may happen to you."

The man went and told the Jews

that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus

because he did this on a sabbath.

Why did Jesus focus on this man amidst a crowd of many who were ill, blind, lame, and crippled? Maybe he'd been sick the longest. Maybe he had more love for God than the others did. Maybe the Father had a special plan for his life. We don't know, but whatever the reason, Jesus recognized his need and readiness to be healed, and so he decided to take the initiative and reach out to the man.

Here is the catch - Jesus knew the ramifications of inviting the lame man to receive his healing gift: Both he and the man would be condemned as sinners. Have you ever been in that kind of a situation?

Dare to follow your heart to where others need the caring touch of Christ. Look for opportunities to be Jesus for others in ways that you've avoided before. Stretch your ability to face the cross, because you love others that much.