Detective Sherlock Holmes’ associate Dr. Watson is brilliant, but he often misses the obvious. Once, Holmes and Watson are on a camping trip. In the middle of the night, Holmes wakes up, nudges Watson, and says, “Look up and tell me what you see.” Watson replies, “I see millions of stars.” “And what do you conclude from that, Watson?” asks Holmes.
Watson thinks for a moment and says, “Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I see that God is all-powerful, and we are small and insignificant. Uh, what does it tell you, Holmes? “Watson, someone has stolen our tent!”
Like Watson, we sometimes miss the obvious, so did the Jews in today’s Gospel passage! John tells us who Jesus is on every page of his Gospel.
- Prologue: John presents Jesus as God in the flesh.
- Chapter 1: As God, Lamb of God, Son of God, Messiah, King of Israel, and Son of Man.
- Chapter 2: Jesus performs the first sign, changing water into wine.
- Chapter 3: Jesus is the unique Son of God that the Father sent into the world for human salvation.
- Chapter 4: Jesus is the living water.
- Chapter 5: Jesus reveals his right to do the works of God on the Sabbath and be honored as God.
- Chapter 6: Jesus feeds the multitude and declares that He is the source of life.
- Chapter 7: Jesus promises the Spirit.
- Chapter 8: He asserts that He existed before Abraham.
- Chapter 9: Jesus cures the blind and reveals He is the light of the world.
- Chapter 10: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the door to salvation.
Despite these apparent indications, the Jews want Jesus to tell them plainly if he is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ. Fascinatingly, they ask this question during the feast of Hanukah, the festival of dedication of the Jerusalem temple. So, the Jews probably had the Maccabean revolt in their mind and expected Christ to overthrow the Romans as the Maccabees overthrew the Alexandrian troops. They saw what they wanted to see. They missed the works Jesus did in His Father’s name. They missed the voice of the shepherd.
Does anything prevent us from recognizing Christ as our true shepherd?
- Father Jilson's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
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