November 8, 2026 | John 9:35-41
Reflection:
We see again and again that Jesus confronts hypocrisy. The way this passage is worded may seem cryptic or confusing, but looking through the lens of hypocrisy, we see that Jesus reveals that the truly (physically) blind are blameless, for they cannot see. It is those who are intellectually and spiritually “blind” who will be held accountable for their actions. The one who was physically blind now sees, while the spiritually blind remain separated from God through “sin.” The sin in this passage is hypocrisy: advocating for one way of being and living out the very opposite. In drawing close to Jesus, do you perceive any hypocrisy in your own life? Jesus helps us all to see who we are created and called to be.
November 9, 2026 | John 10:1-10
Reflection:
In reading today’s passage, what if we understood Jesus’ parable as being about hypocrisy? We have just read a major scene about a blind man regaining his sight, while those who condemn Jesus and the newly seeing man, as if they were somehow sinners, are shown to be hypocritical in their condemnation. Now read today’s passage through the lens of genuine and disingenuous “tenders of sheep,” and perhaps Jesus’ words will make more sense. Religious leaders here are held to higher scrutiny, yet all are called to live in the integrity of Jesus and his way of being in the world. Jesus restores all who are lost and creates a safe haven for them. What image of safety from the world’s dangers best fits for you? Is Jesus (as Good Shepherd, Light of the World, Water of Life, etc.) at the heart of that image?
November 10, 2026 | John 10:11-21
Reflection:
In today’s passage, Jesus continues with the metaphor of the Good Shepherd, showing us more ways that the Shepherd is the genuine protector of the sheep. Notice how “caring” and “love” are at the heart of what differentiates a genuine shepherd and a disingenuous hired hand. As you come to the end of today’s reading, notice how typically human Jesus’ critics are. They again show their “blindness.” Being unwilling to “see” or understand what Jesus is saying, they demonize him. Human beings still do this. They attack and belittle what they are not willing to take time to understand. The last question spoken, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”, embodies the whole movement of these scriptures we’ve been reading in John. Hypocrisy comes out of our blindness and deepens our inability to see (perceive, understand, experience) the good that God is doing in our midst. How do we overcome our own hypocrisy? Notice again how “caring” and “love” are embedded in this chapter and consider how these can help us overcome our blind thoughts and actions.
November 11, 2026 | John 10:22-30
Reflection:
The Feast of Dedication mentioned in today’s passage is Hanukkah. In Jesus’ time, this festival had only been around about 180 years. It commemorated the “rededication” of the Temple after a period when the most holy place in Judaism was occupied by Greek military forces, who had set up altars in the Temple to their gods, primarily Zeus, and pigs and other unclean animals were sacrificed there. When the Jews had regained access and control over the Temple, they cleansed it anew and committed to worship God alone there. This is all backdrop to Jesus entering the Temple and being questioned whether he is God’s anointed. Jesus makes a bold statement in the Temple, claiming that he and God are one. It is no wonder that Jesus’ fellow Jews consider his words blasphemous.
November 12, 2026 | John 10:31-42
Reflection:
By now, if you’ve been reading along with us through John, you may know that, whenever you encounter the word “Jews,” you need to consider who it is that these Jewish people were. Basically, everyone in the story is Jewish, including Jesus and his followers. So, when it says, “the Jews took up stones,” consider who these people are. Are these the religious leaders? Are they devout people who’ve come to the Temple to celebrate the historic victory their ancestors won over the Pagan Greeks? Consider why any one of them would be angry with Jesus. And Jesus gets why they’re angry. He seeks to address their concern (and hypocrisy): if scripture can refer to any of us as “gods,” why are you so upset that I say, “I am the Son of God”? “Well, we are here to celebrate the One God. And you seem to insinuate you too are God!” Instead of getting deeply into a philosophical argument with them, Jesus says, “Look at the works I do. Are they good or not? If they’re good, their source can only be from God.” Instead of assigning obtuseness to the crowds around Jesus, and perhaps thinking that “If I were there, I would have understood who Jesus was,” take a moment to consider how any current blindness we may have may be obstructing our ability to see who Jesus is.
November 13, 2026 | John 11:1-16
Reflection:
The story of Lazarus is well known. People have written books about this one chapter in John’s gospel. (See James Martin’s Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle, 2023) Since it is so well-known, read today’s passage for details you may have never noticed. One sentence that stands out is “Though he loved them, he stayed.” Another is “Those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.” This one seems strange. The metaphor seems to break down. Those who walk in the day see the light that is in the world. We expect Jesus to say, “On the other hand, those who walk in the night have no light by which to see.” But Jesus shifts things. He says that they have no light in them. Remember, one of the major themes of John’s Gospel is “light” and how Jesus is the “Light of the World.” Light also signifies truth in this gospel. Light brings people to experience truth. Those who are blind cannot see the truth. They cannot see in the darkness that shrouds their minds and hearts. In the midst of this story, consider how Jesus is light, truth. He loves those and shows that love even when those he loves are suffering. Keep your eyes on Jesus while reading this story, and at all times. Jesus guides those who seek a path through darkness; he is the light within them.
November 14, 2026 | John 11:17-27
Reflection:
A few years ago, I was travelling through the former East Germany. In the small town of Jueterbog, where there were many decrepit buildings, I saw on the last remaining wall of an old farmhouse these words, in Old German script, barely legible after years of exposure to the elements, “Ich bin die Auferstehung und das Leben.” I thought for a moment and realized these words came from the 11th chapter of John, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” These words had survived on the side of this building for probably a couple of hundred years, even through the atheistic regime of the socialist republic. They stood as a testimony, of sorts, to the enduring power of Jesus’ words. In our passage today, this affirmation of being the Resurrection and the Life comes at a moment of deep anxiety, pain, grief, and angry frustration. Jesus’ friends felt abandoned by him. And he comes, stands alongside, and gives them a sign and symbol of hope and new life. The German town of Jueterbog has seen a lot of restoration in the last 40 years, with many buildings being renovated and restored. That earthly restoration does not compare with the promise of life we have with Jesus, who comes to us in our darkest moments and offers us light.