John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22

Psalm 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

John 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.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, from the beginning you knew how history and your plan of salvation would unfold. You guide all things to their completion. Guide me with your Spirit so that I may accomplish your holy will and attain eternal life with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Feast of Tabernacles: In the Gospel of John, the Jewish feasts have an important role. Jesus is seen as bringing the feasts to fulfillment. For example, the old feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, were all transformed by Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection and memorialized in the New Passover of the Eucharist. The feast of Pentecost, which commemorated the giving of the old Law, becomes the day when the Spirit of God descends upon the Church gathered around Mary. The grace of the Spirit enables us to live the New Law of Charity (John 13:34). The feast in today’s Gospel is that of Tabernacles. It commemorated the time of Israel in the desert, was a thanksgiving for the fall harvest, and looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, when God would once again dwell with his people and gather the nations to worship. It was a feast of water and light. The priests would draw water from the Pool of Siloam and pour it out on the altar to symbolize the outpouring of God’s Spirit. During the feast, Jesus will declare himself as the source of living water and the one who pours out the Spirit. There was also a light ceremony that illuminated the Temple. It symbolized the pillar of fire that guided the people in the desert. During the feast, Jesus will declare himself as the Light of the World. 

2. Jesus’ Hour: Jesus went to the Feast of Tabernacles, not with the pilgrim crowds and his disciples, but in secret. Secrecy was necessary this time because, during a previous feast in Jerusalem, the Judeans tried to kill Jesus: “For this reason, the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God” (John 5:18). Something similar happens at this feast. The religious authorities tried to arrest Jesus and will later try to trap him. Secrecy was also necessary because Jesus’ family wanted him to use the feast to show himself to the world (John 7:4). But John points out that the hour of Jesus’ passion, death, and glorification had not yet come.

3. The Plot of the Wicked against the Son of God: The First Reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, foretells the plotting of the religious authorities against Jesus: “The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: ‘Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training’” (Wisdom 2:12). The wicked religious authorities will doubt Jesus’ claim to be the “Son of God” and seek to put him to the test. They condemned Jesus to a shameful death, asking for crucifixion (John 19:15). The wickedness of the Pharisees blinded them (John 9:35-41). Instead of welcoming the Light of Christ and seeing with spiritual eyes of faith, they chose to remain in darkness.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your hour is one of love and suffering. You drank the bitter chalice of suffering so that you could save us from the curse of death. You did this out of love for your Father and all humanity. You did this out of love for me. I love you and welcome the chalice of suffering you offer to me.

Living the Word of God: Throughout Lent, we have heard the call to conversion, to turn away from sin, and to believe in Jesus, the Son of God. Today, we contemplate those who reject Jesus and do not allow him into their lives. We also contemplate Jesus’ great love for us and the gift of divine sonship that he has won for us on the Cross. How have I converted this Lent? How do I need to allow Jesus in my life today?