Thursday, March 18, 2010

Words, words, words

The writer of the gospel of John must have absolutely loved using words. In many parts of his gospel, there are layers and layers to the truths he speaks about. Unlike the other three gospels, this one relates to Jesus with a fore-knowledge of his glory. To this extent, this gospel is truly one of faith.

In particular today's gospel places Jesus in the company of 'the Jews' and he's trying to justify what he's doing. The reader of this gospel passage would understandably comprehend Jesus as a wordsmith, but the truth of the matter is that it's the writer of John's gospel who put the words in his mouth.

The funny thing is that when it comes to prayer, Jesus himself told us not to waste words. The Father knows what we need even before we ask for it, so what's truly important is that we place ourselves humbly before the Lord, and simply trust that he is always with us, that he is listening attentively and that he answers in ways that not only respond to our requests, but that provide us with blessings in abundance ... and all we have to do is ask, with few words if any at all.

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