The Mob

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 

Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:22-30)

The pull of the mob is strong especially when it comes to scapegoating.  Sheep can be a mob that follows blindly and condemns what is inconsistent with their beliefs.

Consider that kangaroos feed in groups called “mobs” whose composition shifts.  They are not truly social because individual members move at liberty. However, one member can send the mob into a wild rout with individuals bounding off in all directions simply by thumping its tail on the ground in a signal of alarm. 

We are among Jesus’s sheep that often signal a kangaroo-like alarm when we hear some person or group take a position contrary to our own such as one different from our Church’s position on some social or religious issue.  The rout begins with our anger aimed at that person or people.  We must be aware that can lead to scapegoating through lemming-like behavior.

Let’s listen to the right voice and not that of the crowd – the mob.  Remember the last time we heard a crowd?  “Crucify him!”  Let’s never do that to those with a contrary point of view.

Deacon David Pierce