Faith as a Test of Loyalty!

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Jer 11: 18-20; Jn 7: 40-53

Today’s Gospel highlights what it means to stay loyal to our faith in Christ. 

The Gospel demonstrates that those who defend Jesus undergo a loyalty test. 

The first is the group of ordinary people who listened to Jesus’ preaching. They were divided over one question: ‘Who is Jesus?’ After listening to him, some got inspired to acknowledge him as the prophet. Some others declared, ‘This is the Christ.’ Still others rejected him.

The second group is the soldiers. When the chief priests and Pharisees ask the soldiers why they did not arrest Jesus and produce him, they respond, ‘Never before has anyone spoken like this man.’ Jesus’ authority convinces them that he is not an ordinary human. 

Third comes Nicodemus. Though he finds himself in the midst of the Jewish religious leaders, he has the courage to remind them of how the law has to be used by asking, ‘Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him?’ His faith in Jesus helps him stand for justice.

In the way they defend Christ, the three groups of people manifest different characteristics of faith. 

1. Faith in Jesus gives us the courage to stand for truth and justice. Those who defend Jesus or try to reason that Jesus is a good person fight injustice in their own ways. Faith signifies empowerment. Christians are empowered to fight for truth and justice in the name of Jesus.

2. Jesus does not want anyone to follow him for selfish reasons. Faith in Jesus does not symbolize blind loyalty to him. Instead, we are loyal to the truth that Jesus embodies or represents. But because Jesus is that very Truth, our loyalty is ultimately to Jesus Christ. 

3. As the Gospel text underlines, those who defend Jesus are either divided or opposed. The call to discipleship is absolute. For a disciple of Christ, neutrality is not an option. Either we are with Jesus or against him. Encountering Christ means either responding with faith or resistance. 

Let us pray that we may learn from the faith of those who defend Jesus. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar