Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
But does God really care?
The events of John 7 through 9 take place in the context of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, a fall festival which commemorated God’s provision for the Israelites’ during their journey through the desert. The two central symbols of the festival were water and light. Water was drawn from the pool of Siloam each day to be poured in the temple area. Torches were placed at night in the temple courts and carried in procession.
Light: God led them through the desert with a pillar of fire. Water: God made water flow from the rock to quench their thirst. But it was precisely at the rock in Meribah and Massah where the people’s hardness of heart turned a moment of grace into a moment of judgment. They said in their hearts “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
Here, during this festival of water and light, the people will ask the same question—“Is the Lord in our midst?”—but this time it will be in relation to Jesus. This moment of grace will become another moment of judgment. We also are presented with the same challenge. In the midst of our difficulties, will we allow our questions to dominate our mentality and action or will we trust that the Lord leads us through them with a pillar of fire?