Morning Devotion for Epiphany
February 7, 2022
The Invitatory
The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Reading: John 7: 37-52
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, ‘This is really the prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’ But some asked, ‘Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
It is quite remarkable what we can do with our fixed ideas. They hold such sway over us that we do not notice that they so often preclude real possibilities that arise from conditions over which we have no control and yet, surprising as they may be, are entirely helpful, needed and significant—life giving even. Yet we use these fixed ideas to sort and define others, to discriminate and separate, to value and devalue. We become the sole determinant for so much over which we actually have no sway. There are so many other variables that come into play into who a person is and what that means.
In this passage, we sense the conflict rising between Jesus and his opponents. The debate, which turns on things that may seem ridiculous to us—Jesus’ hometown, for starters—was a topic of serious contention between those Jews who rejected Jesus (along with those who followed him) and those who believed he was God’s Messiah. Essentially, the tug-of-war between these two sides boils down to who interpreted Scripture correctly. The author of this Gospel is defending Jesus against charges that he could not have been the Messiah.
It is helpful to remember that the division we sense behind the scenes of John’s account is occasioned by a sibling rivalry—a community once joined in their synagogue worship is later divided by differences over whether Jesus is the Messiah. As is often the case, sibling rivalries and familial conflicts can be quite painful, and so it is here. Religion still divides families. This is something of a sociological explanation. It is altogether a human characteristic that passion or a single point of view obscures the point and, consequently, overrides the larger and greater concern.
Second, whether the characterization of Jesus’ opponents is historically accurate or fair, there is no question that the scenario of rushing to judgment is still commonplace. The great mistake of the characters in this story who oppose Jesus is that they will entertain no counter-evidence.
Third, the great issue in John’s Gospel is belief. To believe in Jesus is to be made a child of God and heir to grace. Not to believe in Jesus is to sin. Belief in Jesus is everything. But notice that when Jesus speaks in this chapter, he does not hold faith up as either the criterion for inclusion or standard of judgment. Rather, he invites all who are thirsty to come and drink from the living water that is the Spirit who will guide Jesus’ disciples into faith and all truth. Belief, as it turns out, is a gift. The Spirit, as Jesus said in the last scene featuring Nicodemus, blows where it will. Hence, when we meet persons who believe differently than we, or profess not to believe at all, perhaps the most fitting response is to welcome them as children of God anyway, praying to, and trusting in, the Spirit of Christ who grants faith in a way that is beyond our comprehension.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
