# Seeking God, finding God: recognizing the truth
*2009-02-27*

> Bill Young reflects on a passage from the Gospel of John where the Temple police are paralyzed by the compelling truth of Jesus' words, despite His humble origins.

## The Division in the Crowd

Today is the fourth Saturday of Lent. We continue our reflections from the pamphlet 'Seeking God, Finding God.' Our reading today is from John 7:43-44, which describes a division in the crowd because of Jesus. Some wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

## Paralyzed by Truth

The Temple police had been sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to arrest Jesus, but they found themselves unable to do so. These men, whose lives were spent taking and giving orders, were paralyzed by a simple carpenter from Galilee. They argued among themselves that He could not be anyone of real importance because no one of importance would come from Galilee. Yet, His words were so compelling that they were unable to follow the orders they had been given.

## Recognizing the Voice of God

We have been reflecting on how we recognize the voice of God. Sometimes, the truth someone speaks is so compelling that we cannot reject it, regardless of how unlawful or unethical the situation may seem, or how unappealing the speaker may be to us. Our hearts recognize the truth even if our minds reject the speaker. This is one way each of us comes to recognize the voice of God, and it is the voice the police heard that prevented them from taking action.

## Putting Faith into Practice

Today, make a special effort to look beyond the outer appearance of the people with whom you interact. Remember that the Messiah did indeed come from Galilee. Listen instead to the words spoken to you and measure those words against the truth in your own heart.

*God of truth, help me to recognize your truth no matter who delivers it.*