Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 - 4th Week of Lent - Wed
[Isa 49:8-15 and John 5:17-30]"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. [John]
The great English spiritual writer, C. S. Lewis, once said something to the effect that Christianity can be of the greatest importance or of no importance at all, but it cannot be moderately important! There is an "all or nothing" aspect to Christianity. Either it preaches the truth or it doesn't. It cannot be true in some ways and false in others. It is this kind of challenge that one faces in the Gospel of John.
Today's gospel scripture is a continuation of yesterday's incident of the healing of the sick man at the Poor of Siloam. The Gospel of John is broadly divided by scripture scholars into the "Book of Signs" (Chs 1-12) and the "Book of Glory" (13-21). Each "sign" seems to serve as a kind of platform for Jesus to say things about himself. In today's excursion, Jesus speaks in many ways about his relationship to his Father, which enables him to do the works that he does. The statements seem to "spiral" with loose connections and may reflect the work of the evangelist in collecting similar statements and putting them together in this place in the gospel.
For us, it is thie intimate union between Jesus and his Father that is important because this is what Jesus is offering when he speaks of eternal life. Western theological tradition has somewhat objectified this union as we experience it by the term "grace." The Eastern church uses the term "divinization." It is because Jesus claims to have this relationship that his adversaries react so strongly. When we read this passage, how to we react? If we believe that Jesus comes from God and is, indeed, the Beloved Son, can we accept his offer of union with God? AMEN