Gospel: John 5:17‐30
Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.
“I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.”
Reflection
For us as Catholics in 2013, it seems pretty easy to believe what Jesus is saying in this passage. In fact a lot of us may have believed that Jesus is the son of God for most of our lives. But back when Jesus was on earth, a lot of people doubted him, and to be honest, it’s pretty easy to understand why.
Try to imagine that while you’re at lunch today, a man sits down next to you, claiming that he is not only the son of God, but living in unity with him and that you must honor and praise him.
Pretty intense stuff, if you ask me and yet, this is what we believe as Catholics. So now you are probably wondering what that means for your life.
The passage tells us that we have a vocation to live as Jesus wants us to live. We must honor him in all that we do and with the choices we make. We do so in the ways that we interact with our families, friends and all that we encounter. In the ways that we spend our time and the ways in which we respond to the social justice issues of our world.
We have a call to live not only as a reflection of Jesus, but FOR Jesus. We must shine his light into our dark and broken world. We must work to create his kingdom on earth.
You know the phrase, “What would Jesus do?” Well now, especially in this Lenten season, challenge yourself to live as Jesus would. Our Lord and Savior, calls you to. You never know what impact it might make on your life and in our world. Peace.
Samantha Ropski, 19, Saint Viator High School
Young Adult Leader
- Being Viatorian is important to me because it allows me to be a part of a loving and passionate community of faith that works to benefit our world and each other.
- One thing I am doing to grow closer to God in this Lenten Season is taking more time each day to sit in quiet reflection with my Bible, to thank God for the blessings he has bestowed on my life.