John 7:10-24: A Spiritual Microscope
Easter Thursday, April 9, 2026
Whoever speaks on his own seeks his own glory, but whoever seeks the glory of the one who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him.
Another Gospel writer, Matthew, tells us that the Christ urged us to cease judging one another (7:1-5) and to take care of the timbers in our own eyes rather than accuse others of not tending to the sawdust in theirs.
It is difficult to discern which voice of the many we hear is the genuine voice. It is difficult to separate ourselves from our own ego to stand back in order to get a clear view of how we act in the world. It is also impossible for us to separate ourselves from our life experiences which always form our thinking and acting. It seems that rather than trying to split ourselves into two halves – one side dealing with unpleasantness, the other avoiding it – we might try to use our daily experiences and the beams in our eye as a spiritual microscope to take a look at how we represent God in the world.
We might ask: Am I looking at the whole picture? Am I rushing to judgment? Am I enabling myself or others to preserve a narrow view? Do I work toward finding common ground in difficult situations or do I add to the turmoil? Do I obfuscate and cross lines or do I seek reason and order wherever I go? How do I express God in my daily living? These questions are endless, but nonetheless important. They provide us with a means to look at self. They also remind us that God is in charge, that when we find ourselves in difficulty we need to look to ourselves first and then turn to help others, always relying on God as the guide, the scientist who focuses our microscope so that we might better see ourselves.
When we read the Gospel we also find something else as we examine ourselves and then act on our reflections and the urgings of the true inner voice, we must expect rejection from those around us. The Pharisees we read about today are angry with the truth the Christ brings them. Jesus asks: are you angry with me because I made a whole person on a Sabbath? Jesus does the Father’s will and is heavily punished. The Pharisees go away grumbling, plotting his death. They are angry that his teaching is not his own, but comes from God.
When we turn our spiritual microscope inward to examine who we are and how we act, we must allow God to focus the lenses. When we speak, we must speak from God, not from our fears or anger. When we listen, we must listen for God for it is the only one true voice that guides to fullness, to glory, to peace.
A re-post from February 24, 2012.
Image from: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artoct07/iw-Casartelli.html
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