The gospel reading brings us to an important moment in Jewish life - the 8-day celebration of the Feast of Dedication/Festival of Lights.

It is a feast where the Jews commemorate the purification of their Temple which had been desecrated by the ruling tyrant in 164 BC.

In Chapter two of John's Gospel, Jesus paid a visit to the Temple and cleansed the place of those traders who exploited the poor pilgrims. While in the temple premise He was asked to give a reason for His behaviour. He replied, "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up," (Jn 2:19). He is the Temple!

But in today's reading Jesus is surrounded by Jews who demand that He reveal who He is. John cleverly depicts this scene by saying, "It is winter," (Jn 10:22). It is not just the weather that is cold but their hearts have grown cold towards Jesus and are unwilling to know Him or listen to what He has to say.

Today, amidst the wintry forces within us and in our world Jesus still continues to speak to us. Can you hear Him in your heart? Can you hear Jesus saying to you - "You are My sheep ...you belong to Me ...listen to My voice ...follow Me ... Such comforting words, what are we doing about them? Today, we can have our own dedication moment.