Lenten Weekday
By Lorenz S. Centino, Jr.
John 5: 17 - 30 | |
17 | But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still, and I am working." |
18 | This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God. |
19 | Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. |
20 | For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. |
21 | For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. |
22 | The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, |
23 | that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. |
24 | Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. |
25 | "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. |
26 | For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, |
27 | and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. |
28 | Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice |
29 | and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. |
30 | "I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. |
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:
A BLESSED WEDNESDAY TO ALL!
How would one feel when he knows that there are people who run after his life and would do everything just to kill him? A normal and sane person will always take precautionary measures of protection whether he may be guilty or not of anything against those people. Many would even be forced to FLEE into HIDING just to secure themselves from such kind of danger. One would even go abroad and take the pain and loneliness to be away and separated from family and loved ones for an indefinite hiding, and even for a lifetime.
Jesus, on the contrary, remained to be seen publicly and mingled openly with the crowd despite his knowledge that people in authority sought to kill him. Jesus even confronted and submitted himself openly to his accusers and tormentors. The Gospel today is even very general in its portrayal of the danger to Jesus life. It says that the JEWS sought to kill him. Such portrayal seems to highlight the imminent and present danger to the life of Jesus. But what made Jesus openly WELCOMES such DANGER? The answer of Jesus is very simple: “I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” Jesus simply DOES the WILL of his FATHER. Nothing can deter him from doing so, not even death.
In the context of the Gospel, the basis of the indignation and violent plan of the Jews to kill Jesus is Jesus’ BLASPHEMOUS claims. The Jews considered Jesus too presumptuous to claim a very INTIMATE relationship with God. First, Jesus is bragging to be WORKING the WORKS of God. To the Jews this is blasphemous because it is tantamount to claiming EQUALITY in POWER with God. In fact Jesus is claiming to exercise the same power with God when he said,
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. |
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” |
Jesus is claiming authority over death and life that belongs to God. Secondly, Jesus is claiming UNITY in SUBSTANCE or NATURE with God by considering God his FATHER. For them such a claim is tantamount to bragging EQUALITY in DIVINITY with God. Thirdly, Jesus is bragging to be EQUAL in AUTHORITY with God as the JUDGE. Jesus claims that
“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, |
and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man.” |
In all of these, Jesus claims to be GOD! Because the Jews failed to see this reality, they failed to recognize the FULFILLMENT of the deep longing of their hearts for the coming of the Messiah.
Because the Jews expected a GRAND COMING of the Messiah, like the MAJESTIC and GRANDIOSE coming of a great King with his royal entourage, they become shortsighted and blinded by APPEARANCES in recognizing who Jesus really is. By the humble and ordinary background of Jesus, they failed to see GOD IS DWELLING AMONG THEM bringing healing, forgiveness, reconciliation and meaning to those who hear and accept Jesus’ message! And so Jesus claims “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
For us not to come into judgment but rather pass from DEATH to LIFE, Jesus is challenging us today to go beyond mere exterior manifestations and appearances by learning to see everything by the EYES of FAITH. If we merely walk according to external appearances, we will just be driven by a shallow and superficial understanding of reality that can easily make us miss to see the HAND of GOD working in what seems ORDINARY and SIMPLE. Normally it is in the ordinary and simple that the WILL of God is manifested and embodied. But we often miss to see and recognize it because we look by EYESIGHT that only appreciates the package and not its content, only see the wrappings and not the gift. We don’t have to win millions in a lottery game to know what BLESSING is all about. We don’t need a healing from a serious illness to experience the POWER of God. It is not necessary for us to commit a grave and heinous crime and plead for understanding and compassion so for us to appreciate the gift of forgiveness. With the EYES of FAITH, anything will be seen and experienced as OPPORTUNITIES of ENCOUNTERS with God.
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