Living in Suspense!

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Acts 11: 19-26; Jn 10: 22-30

Today’s Gospel highlights that faith helps us resolve the challenge of living in suspense.

The Jews ask Jesus, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ Here, ‘living in suspense’ appears more like a spiritual condition that the unbelievers impose upon themselves rather than Jesus causing it. Though they witnessed Jesus’ testimony on many occasions, they were not convinced about Jesus’ divine identity or his mission. As a result, they suffer from their own unbelief and not from Jesus’ fault.

Further, their statement ‘If you are…’ reveals that their inability to understand Jesus continues to haunt them. Put differently, their ambiguity is self-imposed. As a result, the three words reveal more about them than they do about Jesus. And we need to remember that this is not the first or last time that Jesus hears ‘If you are.’ It continued from the start of his mission to its very end (Mt 4:3; Mt 4:6; Mt 26:63). 

Thus, it is clear that the words of those Jews point to what goes on within them. They suffered from this self-imposed condition not only because of their unbelief, but also because they wanted Jesus to fit their image and expectations. Though they could have easily averted the spiritual battle, they failed to unlock the door with faith to commence their relationship with Jesus. 

Moreover, the Gospel text invites us to understand the corrective that Jesus preaches. While faith is important to cherish our relationship with Jesus, by telling them, ‘You do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep,’ Jesus essentially clarifies that faith is not a prerequisite to being loved by God but rather a consequence of our relationship with Him. In other words, believing is not the precondition to belonging but flows from it. 

To qualify his statement further, Jesus invokes the powerful imagery of the Shepherd and the sheep.

It is faith that helps us feel we belong to God, though God’s love embraces everyone without any discrimination. 

Let us pray that we may resolve the problem of living in suspense with our profound faith.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar