Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 5, 2019
Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.
But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.
Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.
Where are you from?
Where I grew up—“where I am from”—I imagine was a lot like where most of us hailed from, in that it was not too popular to talk about Jesus. We could discuss the weather, the fate of the beloved Boston Sox, the latest news and events, but the resurrected Jesus was kind of off-limits. Members of our community were expected to each play his or her role, not imagine lofty roles for yourself. The question of today’s Gospel—where does Jesus fit into our lives?—was one we struggled with, too.
Throughout the Gospels, the crowds wonder how to square Jesus’ humble origins—Nazareth—with his miraculous, powerful public presence. I can relate to these crowds, as this skepticism likely would have characterized my response to Jesus as well. As he proclaims in today’s Gospel, Jesus always knew exactly where he was from. He was from the Father, and like all of us, the beloved child of the Most High. He was never separated from that awesome truth. I often wonder what it would be like to know exactly where I was from and to live out of that perfect connection to Our Father, and his love for me. One day! Until then, I press on in my sinful way, putting God off to somewhere else than dead center, often resisting the love freely offered from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I want to continue to yoke myself to the Master in order to understand more fully where I am really from. I have spent enough of my days not giving Christ the liberating place at the center of my hard heart. Today’s Gospel encourages me to continue on the road of giving Jesus his proper place in my life.
Prayer
Jesus, Son of God the most high, you live in intimate union with the Father and you invite us to share in your life. May the fruits of our own Baptism be more evident than ever these Lenten days, that we may celebrate Easter with unrestrained rejoicing. You live and reign with the Father and the Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Vincent Ferrer was the most famous missionary of the 14th century.
He was born in 1350 to an English noble family living in Spain. When he was a child, his parents received an omen that Vincent would become a great holy man, and they taught him prayer and fasting and care for the poor. He joined the Dominican order and became a brilliant student. He progressed quickly through his education and took on a chair in philosophy in the best university of the region at the age of 21. He became known as a great preacher and teacher.
Vincent lived during a great schism in the Church, when rival popes were reigning from Rome and Avignon. He was called upon to serve as confessor and advisor to one of the rival popes, and his pleas for unity were ignored. His role was a great strain on him and he became sick. During his illness, he received a vision from Sts. Francis and Dominic, who told him that he was to go about preaching penance as they had done. His health was restored and he got permission to leave the papal court.
Thousands would gather to hear him preach as he traveled from town to town, and some even started to follow him around. Eventually, those who remained close to him were organized into a religious community; some of the group would stay behind in a place he visited to help people establish greater devotion and faithfulness in their lives.
Conversions and miracles were reported when people heard him preach. He spoke mainly on the realities of sin, death, hell, and eternity, and he preached with such vigor that many sobbed and some fainted. Though he only spoke in Spanish, he could be understood by those who spoke French, Italian, and German, as well as many who spoke other languages.
The disunity in the Church continued to trouble him, and his advice helped finally to bring about a resolution. He died on this date in 1419, during Holy Week, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Vincent Ferrer, great missionary and miracle-worker—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Vincent Ferrer is in the public domain. Last accessed February 17, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
