Reading I
Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
King Nebuchadnezzar said:
“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you will not serve my god,
or worship the golden statue that I set up?
Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,
whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,
and all the other musical instruments;
otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;
and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,
“There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you
in this matter.
If our God, whom we serve,
can save us from the white-hot furnace
and from your hands, O king, may he save us!
But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god
or worship the golden statue that you set up.”
King Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual
and had some of the strongest men in his army
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and cast them into the white-hot furnace.
Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,
“Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?”
“Assuredly, O king,” they answered.
“But,” he replied, “I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.”
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.”
Gospel
Jn 8:31-42
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father.”
They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!”
So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
Meditation: John 8:31-42
Fatherhood and sonship seem to be at the center of the debate here between Jesus and some of the Jewish leaders. Weren’t they sons of Abraham? Didn’t God choose them from all the nations and call them to be his own?
Well, yes and no.
There are two ways to understand what it means to be a child. You can conceive a child, and genetically that child is yours. However, unless that child lives under your roof and takes on your reasoning, your outlook, and your approach to life, then an essential element of sonship is missing.
For many of the Jewish leaders, being a son of Abraham was a lot like the first kind of sonship. God had adopted them as his own, and that’s all there was to it. To the extent that they didn’t try to take after their father, they missed out on the deeper—and more satisfying—aspect of being children of God. Of course, not all the Jews approached their faith like this. But some were content with just being a descendent of Abraham, without sincerely opening themselves to experience the joy and freedom that God intended for them.
Brothers and sisters, we can become children of God in the deepest, most powerful way possible. We can begin to take on our Father’s habits, his likeness, and his philosophies. This is why Jesus came to us in the first place. He didn’t come just to do away with sin. He came to make us into his brothers and sisters, bearers of the family resemblance (John 1:12-13). “Becoming a disciple of Jesus means accepting the invitation to belong to God’s family, to live in conformity with his way of life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2233).
Every day is filled with opportunities to take on the family resemblance. It’s not always easy, but neither is it all that difficult. We can refuse to join in gossip. We can forgive someone who has deeply hurt us. We can lend a helping hand or perform anonymous acts of service. As often as we do these things, we are showing the whole world that we have accepted the privilege of being members of God’s family.
“Father, thank you for sending Jesus to us. Thank you for filling us with your Spirit and making us your children. Help me to be faithful to your law of love so that I may become more and more like you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment