Jn 12:44-50
Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Which Side Am I On?
At this point, Jesus has a growing number of believers, but also a growing number of those who wish to harm him. Using a type of contemplative prayer that St. Ignatius taught, I imagine myself there with him, using the translation of this reading that we hear at Mass. What do I hear when “Jesus cried out and said”..? Do I hear the raw emotion in his voice, beseeching me and others to believe? “I have shown you signs, follow me. I have come as light into the world.”
Yes, Jesus, I DO hear you speak of light and life. But I also hear those other voices- sinister murmurings growing ever more ominous. What will following you entail for me?
Suddenly, I hear Jesus calling me to make the choice. Now. Today. I can almost hear Pete Seeger singing the words written by Florence Reece, “Which side are you on, boys? Which side are you on? They say in Harlan County, there are no neutrals there.”
Which side am I on?
—Donna K. Becher, M.S. is an associate spiritual director at the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality, Charleston, West Virginia. Her training is rooted in the Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Prayer
Lord, give me the grace to labor with you
without seeking myself—
to live the Kingdom
in its full reality.
—John Futrell, SJ