Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 4th Week of Lent - Wed
[Isa 49:8-15 and John 5:17-30]"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."
We Catholics are not likely to say,"I've been saved!" nor are we likely to ask anyone, "Have you been saved?" We tend to think of "salvation" as a future reality, the reality beyond this life - the finish line and not the race! Jesus' words in today's gospel, quoted above, should give us pause. Notice that he uses the present tense and not the future tense in the first part of the sentence. "Whoever HEARS my word and BELIEVES in the one who sent me HAS eternal life and will not come to condemnation. The future tense is only in the last few words! This suggests to me that we should take our present faith more seriously and not see it simply as a "ticket" to a future event, but as part of the event itself!
Our faith in Christ and the sacramental life of our Catholic Church are a present encounter with Christ. Each time we respond to the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned person is an encounter with Christ. Our baptism starts the event! We don't have to wait until we die! Hearing Christ's word, believing in him and washing the feet of the disciples gives us on earth "a taste of the things to come." AMEN
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