Reflection for April 9 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:31-42

Gospel: John 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.”

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Reflection:

What would happen to us if we decide to faithfully follow Jesus?
Jesus will set us free from all forms of worldliness. He will open our minds to the deeper truths of life and our faith. He will help us appreciate that our life in this world is just a bridge we must cross to reach His kingdom.

But there’s a condition for us to attain this enlightenment: we must always choose to remain in the company of Jesus. We should not believe the many lies of the devil, no matter how attractive and tempting they may be.

However, why is it that many still choose this world over Jesus? They do so for the simple reason that they are more comfortable with the material and sinful offerings of this world. They do so because they have not allowed the teachings of Jesus to take root in their hearts—until they get sick or encounter a crucial event in their lives that forces them to seek God.

Let us not wait for that crucial moment to come before we choose to be faithful to Jesus. Let us do it now while we are still healthy and in full control of our physical and mental faculties.

Let us, therefore, decide to embrace Jesus now and leave behind our sinfulness while we still have the luxury of time. Let us not wait for tomorrow, for tomorrow may already be too late. —Marino J. Dasmarinas