Daily Catholic Lectio. Sat, 21 March 2026. Each One Went Home

Daily Catholic Lectio

Sat, 21 March 2026

Fourth Week of Lent, Saturday

Jeremiah 11:18–20. John 7:40–53

Each One Went Home

The Gospel ends with a simple line: “each one went home.” At first, it seems like an ordinary detail. After a long day of discussion and argument, people simply return to their houses. But the evangelist does not write unnecessary words. This quiet sentence invites us to reflect.

Why does he tell us this?

Because something important has happened—but nothing is resolved. There is confusion, debate, division… and then, no conclusion. Everyone just goes home.

In the Gospel, the people are divided about Jesus. Some say, “He is the prophet.” Others say, “He is the Messiah.” Still others reject him. Even the religious leaders are divided. Nicodemus speaks with some openness, while others resist. The guards who were sent to arrest Jesus return empty-handed, saying, “No one has ever spoken like this man.”

There is movement, questioning, even admiration—but no decision. And so, each one goes home.

The first reading shows something similar, but more personal. The prophet Jeremiah is confused and troubled. He does not fully understand his own mission. He faces opposition and danger. Instead of resolving everything externally, he turns inward and surrenders himself to God. He entrusts his cause to the Lord.

This is the key: before solving the big questions about God, we must face the questions within ourselves.

“Each one went home.” This is not only a physical movement. It is an invitation to return to the inner home—to the heart. Very often, we want to discuss big questions: Who is Jesus? What is truth? What is right? But we avoid a deeper task: to face the confusion inside us. If our inner world is not clear, we cannot see God clearly. Like the people in the Gospel, we can argue, analyse, and debate—but still remain undecided.

Today’s Word quietly asks us three questions.

First: Am I ready to return to my inner home and face the confusion within me? Do I take time to be silent, to listen, to examine my heart? Or do I stay on the surface, moving from one opinion to another?

Second: What prevents me from accepting Jesus? For the Pharisees, it was his simple background—he came from Galilee. They could not accept that something great could come from an ordinary place. What about me? Sometimes it is pride, prejudice, expectations, or past experiences that block my openness to God.

Third: Do I have the courage of the guards? They were sent to arrest Jesus, but they returned saying the truth: “No one has ever spoken like this man.” They risked their position to speak honestly. Do I have that courage—to recognize truth, even when it is inconvenient? 

At the end of the Gospel, many questions remain. There are no clear answers given. Why? Perhaps these are not questions without answers. Perhaps they are questions whose answers we already know—but do not want to accept. Or perhaps they are questions that can only be answered in silence, when we “go home” within ourselves.

So today, the Word of God invites us not to end with argument, but with return. Return to the heart. Return to prayer. Return to God. Because only when we truly “go home” within ourselves… can we begin to recognize who Jesus really is.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy