Why Do You Not Believe Me?

 Father Pothin's Reflection for Sunday, April 2, 2017

Jesus asks the Jews: “Why do you not believe me”?  This Sunday’s gospel talks about faith as acceptance of, or the return to God; two aspects of faith: Individual and ecclesial (community). The individual aspect is reflected by, or seen in, “the human heart.” In the Old Testament the Lord says to his people “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2).  “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”  (Jer 31:31) The “new covenant” is to be inscribed on the human heart by God Himself. This covenant opens our heart and soul to God’s grace and truth. Man’s heart comes to center stage.  The human heart is a great mystery, for from the heart come good or evil thoughts.

The community dimension is an essential element of faith and Christian life. Christ came “to gather the children of God who are scattered into one” (Jn 11:52). The “we” of the Church is the community in which Jesus brings us together (cf. Jn 12:32). Faith is necessarily ecclesial, meaning lived in the community; and it is important to remember as we wind down our journey of Lent that the penitential journey cannot be faced alone, but together with many brothers and sisters in the Church. Where are you on your journey back to God?  Remember, it is never too late to return to God.

–Fr Pothin