GOSPEL POWER l APRIL 6, 2022 - WEDNESDAY

5th Week of Lent

Gospel: Jn 8:31-42 

31Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in  my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth,  and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are  descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What  do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” 34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who  commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not have a permanent  place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the  Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are  descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me,  because there is no place in you for my word. 38 I declare what I have  seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you  have heard from the Father.” 39They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to  them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what  Abraham did, 40but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has  told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham  did. 41You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him,  “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.”  42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,  for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own,  but he sent me.” 

Jesus is supposed to be addressing “those Jews who believed  in him,” yet their hostile reaction to Jesus’ words makes us  wonder what kind of believers they are. Among the various  groups presented in the Gospel of John, we encounter those who  follow Jesus but whose faith in him is inadequate. Jesus’ powerful  deeds attract them, but when Jesus begins to explain what those signs  point to, their too-human mindset begins to resist. They are among  those so-called “disciples” who, in Chapter 6, abandoned Jesus when  he began speaking of himself as the bread of life whose flesh must  be eaten and blood drunk. Their belief in Jesus is selective and  tailored according to their convenience. They want to be regarded as  “believers” and to be in the company of Jesus, yet they do not fully  trust him nor commit their lives to him. The likes of them are still  among us today. Their presence must be a reminder to us that faith is  an ongoing surrender of mind, will, and heart to God. 

Lord Jesus, grant us the humility to accept your revelation of things