Too-Good News

You'll sometimes hear people say:

I believe Jesus was a good man, a holy man, a good teacher.

But I don't believe that he was God.

You might hear that from Muslims, or some Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus.

Even some agnostics and non-religious people.

Even those who call themselves Christians, might admit to some degree of doubt.

For some people, it's just a ludicrous idea that they would never seriously entertain.

A crazy belief that those unquestioning Christians hold to.

For others, it's something they'd like to believe, but they just can't.

Maybe because it seems too good to be true.

They reason that, surely an all-powerful God wouldn't stoop to being one of us?

He created a whole universe with billions upon billions of stars and planets.

And everything upon them and within them.

Certainly he wouldn't be all that interested in humans.

And yet, Jesus was born as one of us.

And, as we hear today, He himself assures us that he is indeed God.

He tells us that he has the power to give eternal life.

He tells us that he and the Father are one.

Elsewhere in the Scripture he's told us that all things were made through [him].

That he came down from Heaven.

That, Before Abraham was, I am.

It is, of course, a mystery how Jesus could be true God and true man.

So we shouldn't be surprised that some people believe it and some don't.

Again, we have Jesus' own words telling us that.

He said, only those called to believe by the Father, will believe.

In today's reading from The Acts of the Apostles we hear that the word is spreading.

The disciples are going out beyond the Jewish community, to the Greeks, the Gentiles.

People they hadn't dared to approach before.

And many are accepting the word and believing.

Believing not just that Jesus is God, but believing all the Too-Good News he delivered.

That God is not only interested in humans—He's interested in each individual human.

That God is our loving Father who wants us to have eternal life with Him.

Only those called to believe by the Father, will believe.

But He's constantly calling.

Just as he called through Barnabas and Paul and all the early disciples.

Relying on them to make the initial contact, to plant the seed.

And then, He himself nurturing that seed, calling and recalling that person to full belief.

Let us pray that God keeps calling to everyone.

That He helps us do our part in making those initial contacts.

And that He give us the courage to reach out to those we haven't yet dared to approach.

Tuesday, 4th Week of  Easter

Jn 10:22-30          Read this Scripture @usccb.org