Reflection On John 10: 31-42

It demands a lot of courage and conviction from our side to stand by the truth. This is one of the messages that this passage gives. There may be times when we are not accepted for the good works we do as it happened in the case of Jesus. He went about doing well to everyone; but He was accused of making Himself equal to God. But Jesus knew well that His works are nothing but the works of His Father. The poor being protected, the blind seeing, the widow and the orphan being cared for, the prisoners being freed, etc.., were the works that always made the people of Israel recognize the presence of God in their midst. Still they tried to find fault with Him and arrest Him. We need to be so vigilant that we do not fall prey to the evil by using our power to destroy the growth and goodness of others for the purpose of defending our interests.
Jesus says that if the people refuse to believe in His words, they should at least accept His deeds. The Lord is applying here the old saying that works speak louder than words. A person might say, “I believe that God exists.” That is a clear and forceful statement. A stronger declaration would be, “I indeed, believe that God exists.” If I, “indeed”, believe, it means that I express my belief in the way I act and therefore, I am expressing a much more strong faith. What we do- our deeds are much more telling of us than what we say – our words. There is a story of an old lady dying who, for 50yrs, had done volunteer work for needy people. Her pastor of many years was now present at her bedside. To him, she expressed some fear. “What will I tell the Master when I see Him?” her pastor calmly replied, “Don’t say anything. Just show Him your hands.” Perhaps God is more impressed by the work of our hands than the sound of our voice. God’s voice is heard most clearly not in sounds from heaven but in the fullness of created splendor. Note how Eucharistic prayers two and three begin with, “God the Father, you are Holy indeed”, today, let us ask for the grace to forget the words and be holy indeed.
Questions to ponder:
Do my intentions on works right to the path that lead?
Is any good deed interrelated to faith?
How one can gain strength through Eucharist?



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