Tyranny of the elites

In today’s Gospel (John 7:40-53), cultural elites try to prevent people from believing in Christ.

The Pharisees answered them,
“Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities
or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd,
which does not know the law,
is accursed.”

This resonates well with the experience of believers in many places today where cultural elites – in academia, in the media, and in government – denigrate people of faith (sometimes more subtly than the Pharisees of old, sometimes not so subtly).

As it was in that time as well as in the time of the Prophet (Jeremiah 11:18-20) and the Psalmist (Psalm 7:2-3, 9bc-12), may we not be intimidated by the pseudo-intellectual bullying of the self-styled elites but may we always find strength, light, and love in the truth and grace of God.

O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge…