Questions left Unanswered

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

20 Now there were some Greeks[a] among those who had come up to worship at the feast. 21 [b]They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 [c]Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 [d]Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life[e] loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.27 “I am troubled[f] now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. 31 Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world[g] will be driven out. 32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” 33 He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.-John12:20-33

Life is full of mysteries and surprises. Even if science claims that it can answer anything and everything, still there are some questions that left unanswered. We know the reasons - at least partly - why Jesus must be crucified. However, there is still a mystery about it. Why a painful death? How can a death glorify God? How can a seemingly 'failure' be an act of glorification? Can we do it too in our own small way?

Image courtesy: The Passion of the Christ

 

Foolishness and Wisdom

The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.

13 [a]Since the Passover[b] of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 [c]He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,[d] as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” 17 [e]His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them,[f] “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,[g] and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.-John2:13-25

Perhaps it may seem absurd for some to hear, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." A fallen house cannot be rebuilt in just 3 days, how much more a temple. But who can possibly understand or know that Jesus was referring to His body as the true Temple? With our knowledge, wisdom and advancement, it is is still not enough to match even the foolishness of God. For God's foolishness is still wisdom. Our life may seem to be topsy turvy, or full of misfortunes, or full of tragedies. But God can make it straight, and He will do it at the right time and place.

Image courtesy: Dreamstime

God the True Giver

God is the greatest Provider there is.

1 In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, he summoned the disciples and said, 2 “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” 4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” 5 Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied. 6 [b]He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. 8 They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets. 9 There were about four thousand people.He dismissed them 10 and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.-Mark8:1-10

This is the second miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. It is sad to note that the disciples' answer to Jesus, 'Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?' is still very humanistic. I cannot blame the disciples because, indeed, where will one go to buy food for a multitude in the middle of nowhere? But if this is the second multiplication of the loaves and fish already, then, they should have known what Jesus would most likely do.

We, too, are like the disciples. Sometimes, we believe in ourselves so much. We believe that we have all the right answers. We believe we know better how to ran our lives. We think we are the better captain and commander of our 'ship.' But the truth is, we do not know what is good for ourselves without God. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Although their eyes were opened, they were still far from being a god, far from truly knowing, far from wisdom, and far from truly knowing good and evil. Yes, we inherited the stain of sin, but we never inherited the benefits of what the fruit truly stands for. God continues to pour upon us His favors and graces. These gifts are overflowing. All we have to do is open ourselves to His invitation.

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The Authority

Jesus is The Authority.

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.-Matthew21:23-27

Jesus is The Authority! If the chief priests' authority came from their bloodline and from their studies, Jesus need not ask for authority from somebody else because He is The Authority.

Suddenly, I cannot help but remember the many fellowships, religious sects and 'corporations with religious work,' that boast of their superiority of the Bible. [However, I respect some that are humble in nature] Just because they can 'speak,' they immediately believe too much of themselves. As what the saying goes, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Meaning, "A small amount of knowledge can mislead people into thinking that they are more expert than they really are." Particularly because the Bible's meaning is inexhaustible. Our interpretation of it can be colored by our experiences, difficulties, current situation and so forth. God will never be boxed by our experiences alone no matter how vast it is. God will never be fully understood simply by looking and understanding Him through a peephole of what we call our experiences. Therefore, intellectually, the Bible's meaning is vast. Is knowledge of God, then, impossible? No, because the summary of the Bible and knowledge of God can be found in one word alone - LOVE. Loving God and loving one's neighbor are the keys to unlocking so vast a knowledge and so deep a relationship with our Creator through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

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