St John 7: 1 – 9
After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. So his brothers said to him, ‘Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.’ (For not even his brothers believed in him.) Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.’ After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
Reflection
I wonder how we should read the term ‘brothers’ in this story? Are these his siblings? Members of his extended family? Or is familial imagery being used for his disciples?
Relationships with family can be curious and tricky as well as being among the most prized that we ever make. Our closest relatives know how to ‘push our buttons’ and it can be intriguing to observe how people, who on the face of things have identical or very similar backgrounds and upbringings, can grow up to be such different people. The severing of family connections, most potently by death or permanent estrangement, can bring wounds that never properly heal.
Jesus’ brothers seem to want to push Jesus into the limelight despite the danger. Did they know that there were those wishing to kill their brother? Perhaps they did not know that there was a price on Jesus’ head. We are told that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him. What did Jesus mean with his statement: “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.” A straightforward, “the world is as it is and you cannot help be a part of that; I am not part of that.”?
The rhythms of our lives created by faith, work, family, friends, and community roll on alongside the assumptions about how, and why, everything is the way it is. When someone steps out of the expectations about how life shakes out, as it seems that Jesus did, questions and confusion appear as, sometimes, the people who love them most try to push that person back onto the conventional path.
Or was this a simple misunderstanding about travel to go to a festival? The rest of the family wanted to go. Jesus, for whatever reason, did not. A family discussion here wrapped up in a host of other questions for reflection.
Prayer
Brother Jesus,
we pray this day for families.
Our own,
and for those around us.
We remember the people
we grew up around.
Extended family for many.
Other carers for others.
For those still living,
whether they are close to us or not,
we pray.
For those no longer of this life,
we recall, with gratitude
or whatever feeling works for us.
We pray for those estranged
from close family members
asking that they may find peace.