"The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" – John 7:41-42
An irony surfaces in today’s Gospel with the Pharisees’ doubting questions. They refuse to believe Jesus is the Christ because He currently resides in Galilee – probably without knowing of His birth in Bethlehem before. The scriptures were indeed fulfilled then, but not the way in which they imagined. They judge Jesus as false because they simply do not understand.
I have been guilty of this myself on a number of occasions, and still catch myself doing so from time to time – that is, expecting God to come a certain way in my life. God doesn’t happen the way that I think He will, and then I’m tempted to plunge into doubt, despair, and sometimes even anger. I have ideas about how things should or could look, and then become fearful, confused, and dismissive when they appear otherwise.
Yet then, is it God’s will or mine that is taking the lead? If it’s my lead, I am then only present to how I want God to be present to me, rather than being open to what God really wants to reveal. Perhaps the invitation is to look at the fulfillment of His plans in a completely different way, if only I could step outside my little box of understanding.
Where might Jesus be present in my life beyond my understanding or comfort right now? What might He be trying to show me through this?
Reflected by Quyen (Nhi) Ngo
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