Saturday of the 4th Week of Lent
Jer 11:18-20
Jn 7:40-53
“…see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.”
One of my favourite Jane Austen novels of all time is ‘Pride and Prejudice’. The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett, comes from landed gentry, but they are seen as beneath the social standing of the wealthy Mr. Darcy — who counts their like ‘inferior’ as they come from the country — and therefore, considered lacking in social graces and proper manners. Elizabeth on the other hand, offended by Mr. Darcy’s flippant remark about her, decides that he is a snob because of his aloofness, and believes a lie spun by Mr. Wickham, Mr. Darcy’s nemesis, instead of uncovering the truth for herself.
The Pharisees in today’s Gospel embody both pride and prejudice against Jesus and try everything to convince people, and themselves, that Jesus is not the Messiah. Indeed, even when being presented by the guards’ positive account of the strength of Jesus’ character and Nicodemus’ questioning that they follow the rule of their law, they refused to believe — so blinded by their prejudices were they. As a learned class of society, the Pharisees saw themselves as above everyone in society, and therefore by extension, their words would always be right. They believed a narrative that they themselves originated.
How quick they were to misjudge Jesus. How vehemently they were to dismiss any sort of evidence that pointed them to the truth. And what about us? How quick are we to judge others’ actions without first understanding the situation or the person. It seems that our default reaction is to get upset first rather than pause for a moment to think for a second — Is our anger justified? Was the incident a mistake or accident? Why would this person behave this way? True, it is so much easier said than done, but as God is slow to anger, so should we be. If God gives us a second chance, so should we to others. As God is just and merciful, so should we. God is forgiving, and He extols the same to us too in His Word.
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord,” in Romans 12:19. God wants us to love our neighbours, and to do that, we need to shed our pride and our prejudices. Salvation, after all, comes from the most unexpected of places, as God wills it. Who knows, what we are prejudiced against may turn out to be our saving grace.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Annette Soo)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our world revolves around us so much that we have become proud and biased people without even realising it. We pray for more self-awareness, that we may pause and reflect before acting on impulse. Help us overcome our prejudices and put our pride away, and by so doing, may we also encourage others to do the same.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for second chances, for Your mercy and kindness, for Your justice in the face of injustice. Thank you for fighting our battles and for Your forgiveness, which we are so undeserving of.
OXYGEN 
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