Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent 2020

An often-quoted line from the movie Cool Hand Luke affords us a truth reflected in today’s Gospel reading: “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate… some men you just can’t reach.”  Jesus stands tall in his integrity and the Jews just don’t get it. While they are looking for a Messiah, they are blinded by their own obstinacy.  In fact, their anger is aroused that they pick up stones to throw at him.

I would suppose that some of us pick up stones, even if only in our minds, because we don’t take the time to listen deeply to the truth another is trying to teach us.  A prayer for today - listen without picking up stones, not even pebbles.