The starting point of discipleship is an act of trust in God.  Our security is rooted, not in acceptance by others, not in conformity to whatever group in the Church seems most solid and reliable, not even in the approval of popes and bishops, who, in history, have turned a blind eye to abuses and “stoned the prophets” God sent to them.  

Our ultimate confidence is in the Word of God and carefully discerned enlightenment by the Holy Spirit. To give unqualified trust to anything else, besides the reliable but rare defined dogmas of the Church, is idolatry. “O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.” 

Jeremiah 11: 18-20 tells us we don’t always know who is speaking or acting against us. “I, like a trusting lamb led to the slaughter, had not realized they were hatching plots against me.” It is not paranoia to think that it happens today, even in the Church itself. We live with the truth that we are a sinful, saintly Church.  

Not to worry! Eventually, God wins. “O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.” 

In John 7: 40-53 everybody is arguing about the wrong questions—except the temple guards, who, when asked why they didn’t carry out orders and arrest Jesus, just said, “No man ever spoke like that before.” But others argued that he wasn’t born in the right place or accepted by the Sanhedrin (the religious authorities) or by the Pharisees (considered the educated and “fervent”), but only by “this lot, that knows nothing about the law—and they are lost anyway.” Nicodemus pointed out it was all irrelevant. “Since when does our law condemn anyone without first knowing both the person and the facts?” 

All the false arguments above are still used against controversial figures today. Authentic disciples seek to know Jesus (and any accused) and the facts. 

Today’s Psalm Response (Psalm 7) gives us the ruling principle of discipleship: “O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.” 

Prayer Prompt: Be a disciple of Jesus. Neither accept nor reject without involving him. 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #249, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.