Scripture Readings for April 4, 2025

Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22, Psalm 34:17-21, 23, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

          These are readings about division and conflict. John’s Gospel was written at a time of division in their community and it’s reflected here in the argument over who Jesus is. Some people wonder if he is the Messiah while others want to kill him. A similar outlook is portrayed in Wisdom. Sinful people are plotting against an upright man, a good person who they despise because he is good and is a challenge by his very life to their behavior. The Psalm voices what God offers, mercy and love regardless of past behavior.

          Do we face the same challenges today? Can we decide how to act in the face of daily life? Is this about what is hidden? Are there things that block our ability to be honest with ourselves and others, about how we feel and want to act. Maybe this is about false fronts, clever deceptions that mostly fool ourselves. Can we uncover where we are truly coming from. Some people in Jerusalem thought Jesus was just from Nazareth in Galilee. They believed that the Messiah would come boldly from some hidden place. Therefore, this couldn’t be the Messiah. But like the people in our Wisdom reading they were being misled by their own defensive attitudes, jealousy and self-absorption.

“We see him as a reproof to our way of thinking
The very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
For his kind of life is not like other people’s
And his ways are quite different.” (Wisdom 2:14-15)

Jesus was in fact coming from a very hidden place, the divine life of his Father.

 But to accept that takes knowing “the hidden things of God,” hoping for “the reward of holiness,” and believing in “a reward for blameless souls.” (Wisdom 2:22)

          In today’s language, I would say it takes an openness to life and the people who care for us. Facing what we hide, our own failings and fears. That’s the only way to see ourselves honestly and be able to live a life that doesn’t seek to crucify those who are different or simply disagree with us. To recognize that we don’t need to be defensive.

          We need to listen to what our Psalm says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” It’s just that we have to accept that we too are brokenhearted and need the love and support of all the people around us. That’s how we experience the love of God by getting beneath our facades into our hidden places so we can live the life we were meant to live, one of love, generosity and gratefulness.