Bible Study With The Bishops: God Is Still Working

Reading Plan Text for March 14: John 5:9-18

Well now he's done it. Jesus has broken the law--or at least the commandments of his faith. Actually, he committed the "crime" in yesterday's reading, but today it comes to the notice of the local religious authorities (at least that is what Burridge tells us John means when he speaks of "the Jews" in this context--I see no reason to doubt that interpretation). The healed man is seen carrying his mat, which can be construed as work. One isn't supposed to work on the sabbath, and John is quite clear that this healing took place on a sabbath day. In some Jewish communities the ways to avoid "work" become quite convoluted. A family might hire a "shabbas goy"--a gentile hired for the sabbath day--to come in and turn the lights on and off for them, for example.

When questioned the man tells the authorities of his healing but isn't able to identify who healed him. Later, after another encounter with Jesus, he goes back to the officials to tell them it was Jesus that healed him. When the authorities confront Jesus, his response is

My Father is still working, and I also am working.

Upon reading his response, I was immediately reminded of the United Church of Christ's (UCC) recent advertising campaign, "God Is Still Speaking." The UCC's message is that God's invitation is still being spoken by God, and that everyone is invited. To me, Jesus' message is that God is present and still working with Creation--constantly. Jesus, as God's representative in Creation, is therefore carrying out God's work--also constantly.

Of course, Jesus is more than God's representative, by his own claim of God as his father, he declares himself to be God's son. This is many times more serious than breaking the sabbath. If there is a faster way to run afoul of the religious authorities, I can't think of one. Yet Jesus does not hesitate to make these kinds of declarations. He has been making them almost since he first appeared in John's Gospel: "This is who I am. Deal with it."

What would it take for us to be that open about who we are and where we come from? What might be the results of making such declarations?

Peace,
Jeffri