John 10:22-30

This week's Gospel lesson presents a challenging and difficult message for the ancient Israelites, and for us as well. Jesus is being questioned by contemporaries who expected the Messiah to come as a conquering hero, a warrior like the Maccabees, who would lead a great uprising and overthrow the oppressive Roman government. Instead, Jesus comes as a compassionate shepherd who heals the victims of injustice and oppression, and he abhors violence so much that he would rather submit to an unjust death than protect himself or let his followers protect him by fighting back. What is more, Jesus claims that his example reveals the nature of God the Father: "The Father and I are one." In other words, he seems to be saying that the Israelites have been quite wrong to believe that God wants them to wage war against their enemies, or even to use violence in self-defense.

If this was Jesus' message to the Israelites, must it not also be his message to us? Do we believe in a God who condones or even encourages the use of violence to solve our problems? If so, have we replaced the Father of Jesus with an idol created in our own foolish image? On the other hand, if we know that our God abhors violence, can we honestly claim to serve Him if we aren't trying hard to do something about the pervasiveness of violence in our popular culture, the streets of our cities, and the foreign policy of our nation?