PRAYER

God of Justice. Equip us to bring justice to an unjust world. May we be true image bearers of Christ. Amen.

READING

John 11:45-57

Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. ⁴⁶ But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷ Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. ⁴⁸ If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”

⁴⁹ Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! ⁵⁰ You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”

⁵¹ He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. ⁵² And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world.

⁵³ So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.⁵⁴ As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.

⁵⁵ It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” ⁵⁷ Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.

REFLECTION

The Scripture reading today picks up after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. People told the Pharisees what Jesus did, causing the religious group to become upset. They called the Sanhedrin (the council which included Pharisees, Sadducees and Chief Priests) to discuss what they were going to do about Jesus. Fear was a driving force behind their anger and indignation, as it is with most behaviour in our world today. They were afraid Jesus would acquire a large following and possibly become King or Ruler which was against Roman law. If this happened, the Roman government would step in and remove the Sanhedrin's authority. If you remember, Pontius Pilot wrote "KING of the Jews" on a nameplate at Jesus' crucifixion. The Sanhedrin's lies found root and their plan to kill Jesus succeeded.

It is incredibly disheartening when we see evil plans succeed or injustice go unchecked. When guilty criminals walk free, when governments overstep their power, or when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, we feel the injustice. It is upsetting to continue to see a lack of clean drinking water for Indigenous Peoples, or see people die of hunger when we live in a country of abundance. The world is broken. The world needs Jesus. Psalm 21:11 says, "Through they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed". We know there is victory through Christ and one day all will be made right. Evil plans cannot succeed forever. Until, then, may we follow the prophet Micah's call "to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Jesus' path to the cross required evil plans like lies, betrayal and deception to occur. God maintained authority because God allowed these series of events to happen because His plan has always been to make peace with us. This could only happen through the death and resurrection of God's son Jesus. It was the only way to make peace. God is always at work and Justice will always prevail, in God's time.

LENT CHECK IN

Consider giving to a social justice organization that resonates with you or pray for that organization.