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<v SPEAKER_00>There's a line from today's first reading that should unsettle us all if we're paying attention.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The wicked said among themselves, Let us beset the just one, merely to see him as a hardship for us.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It's a brutal line, not because it's ancient, but because it's current.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The just man is not attacked because he is loud.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He's not attacked because he's violent.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He's not attacked because he is wrong.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He's attacked because his life exposes others.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Merely to see him is a hardship, the reading tells us.

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<v SPEAKER_00>In other words, your life bothers me because it reveals mine.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is so deep.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is a powerful teaching that we have today.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Holiness does not just inspire, it provokes.

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<v SPEAKER_00>If you're living a holy life and you're trying to be right with God, it's going to provoke.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Truth does not just attract, it confronts.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That's why the just man in the reading is rejected.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He doesn't fit, he doesn't compromise, he doesn't go along to get along.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And so the response is predictable.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Let us test him, let us condemn him, let us see if God will defend him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That sounds familiar, it should, because that is the logic of the cross.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Long before Jesus is crucified, his story is already written here.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And in the gospel, we see it unfolding.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They're confused by him, they question him, and ultimately they want to silence him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But then there's this quiet, powerful line.

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<v SPEAKER_00>No one laid a hand upon him because his hour had not yet come.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Do you see what that means?

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<v SPEAKER_00>They think that they are the ones in control.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They're not.

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<v SPEAKER_00>God is always in control.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Now, here's where this gets uncomfortable because it's easy to keep this at the level of them, the wicked, the crowd, the enemies of Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But the real question is, where am I in this story?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Where do I see myself?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because there are moments when we admire the just, and there are moments when we resist them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Let me break this down.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I want to make this more concrete.

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<v SPEAKER_00>When someone in your life is truly living the gospel, serious about prayer, serious about integrity, serious about sacrifice, what is your reaction?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Do you let it challenge you?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Or do you quietly dismiss it?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Ah, they're too intense or too rigid, too holy roly, or that's not realistic.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I can't live like that.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Well, be careful.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because that's exactly how the wicked speak in the first reading.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not with horns and pitchforks, but with just enough justification to avoid conversion.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Here's the teaching.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Sin blinds us.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The reading says it plainly.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Their wickedness blinded them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not that they lacked intelligence, not that they lacked religion, they lacked clarity.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Why?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because sin distorts vision.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And once you're blinded, you don't just reject evil, you start rejecting good.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You begin to see holiness as a threat.

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<v SPEAKER_00>A threat to your comfort, a threat to everything that you've built around you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You like your nice, comfortable life.

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<v SPEAKER_00>That's why Jesus has something very striking in the gospel.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I did not come on my own.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The one who sent me, you do not know.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They know the scripture, they know the law, but they do not recognize God standing right there in front of them.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Why?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Well, because their hearts are not aligned.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So here's the challenge for this Friday.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Don't ask, do I believe in God?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Ask, am I living in such a way that I can recognize Him when He stands before me?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because you can be all religious, go to Mass every day, and still miss Him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You can know all your prayers and still resist His voice.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Here's one more thing.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You decide to take faith seriously, really seriously, you need to be ready for this.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Not everyone's gonna applaud you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Some will misunderstand you, some will distance themselves from you, some will quietly resent you, because light does that.

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<v SPEAKER_00>It exposes.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But do not be afraid, because the gospel gives you the final word.

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<v SPEAKER_00>His hour has not yet come.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Meaning nothing happens outside of God's providence, not rejection, not misunderstanding, not even suffering.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So today, choose your path in the story.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Don't be among those who resist the just because it's uncomfortable.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Be among those who are willing to be changed.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And even more, become the kind of person whose life speaks so clearly that it points to God, even if it costs you.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Because in the end, the just one they tried to destroy is the one who saves.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And if you stay with him, you will not be blinded.

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<v SPEAKER_00>You will see.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Amen.