Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 23, 2023
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
As a child, I remember navigating from one part of my home to another in the dark. In the absence of light, I walked with confidence that what I recalled of the house would be sufficient to assist in maneuvering about the room.
I debated the exact distance from the reclining chair to the living room table, the picture frame, and the snack cupboard. I studied my mental picture of where the carpet met the floor, attempting to project the image to the paradoxically familiar and now unfamiliar space around me.
Reading today’s Scripture, I pondered the faith expressed by the Jews of Jesus’ time. While the record of my surroundings as a child offered me a sense of security, the inevitable misstep left me disoriented, unable to discern what was truly in front of me. Did the Jewish leaders feel this way when encountering Jesus?
For the Jews, the laws and practices of their ancestors provided them a sense of security, a familiar image of the pathway to eternal life. However, Jesus suggests their presuppositions blinded them from accepting Jesus’ invitation to conversion. Though they placed their hope in Moses, representative of the Law, they rejected the words of Christ.
Like the Jews, we may “search the Scriptures” in pursuit of eternal life. Yet, in our searching, we may miss the message that Christ presents us, the good news that he has come to illuminate our lives. Do we believe that Christ is the fulfillment of the Scriptures or do we refuse to walk in faith along unfamiliar paths?
As I have grown older and matured in my faith, I have learned that faith is walking in trust that God is our guide along all paths we tread. Faith draws us to trust in God beyond our human understanding.
Prayer
Lord Jesus: John testified to you. Your works testify to you. The Father has testified on your behalf. And Moses wrote about you. “But you do not want to come to me to have life,” you said to the people. Lord Jesus, I want to come to you. May my Lenten observance show me the way. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was a 16th century Spanish missionary to the new world who defended the rights of Latin American natives.
He was born to a noble family in Spain, and capitalized on a very good education by studiously developing a sharp intellect. He went on to teach law at the famous University of Salamanca. His virtue and wisdom led him to appointments from the king, and he was ordained a priest.
In 1578, he was sent to Peru and named Archbishop of Lima. He often traveled throughout the immense diocese on foot, engaging anyone he met. He learned the local dialects in order to converse with the native people there—he instructed and baptized them. He traveled alone and was exposed to extreme weather, wild animals, tropical diseases, and even threats from hostile tribes.
He was a powerful voice for reform in the new world. The conquistadores exploited the indigenous people, and the clergy were often complicit in this oppression. He was known as a staunch defender of the rights of natives against the Spanish settlers, and though he met powerful opposition from Spanish governors in Peru, he persisted in his advocacy.
In Peru, he built roads and churches, schools, and hospitals, and opened the first seminary in the western hemisphere. It is said he welcomed 500,000 people into the Church in Peru, and among those he confirmed were St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin de Porres.
He died on this date in 1606 from a fever, and his image is used here with permission from Catholic.org. Relics of one saint named Turibius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica on campus.
St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo, who defended indigenous people from Spanish conquistadores—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo is in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
