Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 13, 2019
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”
Caiaphas’ statement in today’s Gospel, “it is better to have one man die than to have the whole nation destroyed,” is jarring. On first read, this seems like a reasonable utilitarian principle of seeking the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Then it hits me: they are talking about killing Jesus! This is clearly not the right course of action, but they are absolutely convicted that they are doing “the right thing.”
The Pharisees were convinced they were right to put Our Savior to death. Yet, what did Jesus say at the hour of his death? Forgive them, father, they know not what they do.
How does this apply in our lives? Do we “kill” the Jesus present in others when we are caught in the certainty of our own righteousness? At times, we may get so focused on the righteousness of our positions that we fail to see the human being in the other—our spouse, our neighbors with different political views, our parents or children.
Many years ago, my father said to me, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” As a teenager, I didn’t really understand his words, but I never forgot them. I didn’t see it then, but my father had the quiet strength to live out that challenge in his own life.
Earlier this week, I was putting my eight-year-old to bed, after reading a Ninjago book, which profiled the various characters’ strengths and weaknesses. I asked Dylan: “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Dylan said his strength was trying to be nice to people who are being mean to him. I was amazed. The spiritual strength of my father shone through in my child.
As we come to the end of Lent, I will continue to strive to be more like my dad—and my son. They continue to teach me to see Christ in others who challenge me.
Prayer
Father, your beloved Son Jesus was anointed in the Spirit and brought your healing love to our world. We pray that Christ, the light of the world, will sustain us always in faith, hope, and love. Amen.
Saint of the Day
In the four years during which he was pope, St. Martin I created powerful enemies with his stout-hearted defense of truth.
After he was elected pope in 649, one of his first acts was to convene a Church council to confront a heresy that distorted the way in which we understand Jesus. Monothelitism declared that though Jesus has both a human and divine nature (as is orthodox), he has only one will, which is divine.
In the controversy over this heresy, the emperor refused to support one side or the other, and commanded that the matter was not to be discussed.
Under Martin’s leadership, the council denounced Monothelitism, and proclaimed that Jesus has both a divine will and a human will to correspond to his two natures. Moreover, the council condemned the emperor’s edict, in essence saying that it was throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
The emperor was furious and sent soldiers from Constantinople to arrest Martin; he was imprisoned for months in a cold and dirty cell. He was fed little food, was not allowed to wash, and suffered from dysentery. When he was brought to trial, he was not allowed to speak and was convicted of treason.
He was eventually exiled to Crimea, where conditions did not improve. In fact, people there were under a famine, which made his situation worse. He died after two years, and is honored as a martyr for the faith.
Pope St. Martin I, you faithfully proclaimed the truth and died in prison for it—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Pope St. Martin I is available for use under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
