{"id":19414,"date":"2022-06-07T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-7th-june-2022"},"modified":"2022-06-07T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-7th-june-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-7th-june-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 7th June 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

St John 10: 22 – 42<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,  and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, \u2018How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.\u2019  Jesus answered, \u2018I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father\u2019s name testify to me;  but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father\u2019s hand.  The Father and I are one.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jews took up stones again to stone him.  Jesus replied, \u2018I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?\u2019  The Jews answered, \u2018It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.\u2019  Jesus answered, \u2018Is it not written in your law, \u201cI said, you are gods\u201d?  If those to whom the word of God came were called \u201cgods\u201d\u2014and the scripture cannot be annulled\u2014  can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, \u201cI am God\u2019s Son\u201d?  If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.  But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.\u2019  Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there.  Many came to him, and they were saying, \u2018John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.\u2019  And many believed in him there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing which strikes me as I begin reading this passage is the very precise and specific time and location, placing Jesus in the temple and at the time of the festival of Dedication. The people gathered round – potentially a threatening group \u2013 laying down the challenge to Jesus. The question \u201cHow long will you keep us in suspense, if you are the Messiah tell us plainly\u201d does not seem to be a question asked with friendly intent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are these people who really want the answer to their question? As the conversation continues it becomes very clear that those present fail to understand Jesus and his all-important relationship with God. The image of the sheep and the shepherd which runs through this chapter of John\u2019s gospel has a tradition of illustrating the soft and caring elements of shepherding but if we look more closely we might find a different picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 reference to \u2018the works I do in my Father\u2019s name\u2019 points to something deeper perhaps leading those gathered round to a fear of the underlying power of those works and a recognition that they really do not understand what Jesus is talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 challenge back to his listeners is to say if I am not doing the works of my Father then don\u2019t believe me.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not a passage about what is said or what is done. It is a passage about Jesus\u2019 relationship with God and in turn our relationship with Jesus and through him with God. It is an invitation to us to step up to the plate, to be prepared to see the \u2018good works from the Father\u2019 and to learn from the one who performed them so that we may do likewise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Challenging God,<\/span>
may we not hide from your call.<\/span>
may our daily living be a demonstration to those around us of our relationship with you.<\/span>
may our words and actions offer hope in a hurting world.<\/span>
Amen<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St John 10: 22 – 42 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,  and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.  So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, \u2018How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the … <\/p>\n

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