Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 23rd March 2023

Yesterday’s Gospel ended with these words of Jesus. “My aim is to do not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.’ Jesus is speaking with the religious authorities of his day, who are angry that he calls himself Son of God, thus making himself equal with God. Jesus insists that he has been sent by the Father, to carry out the Father’s plan for the salvation of humanity and that his aim is not to do his own will, but the Father’s will. In today’s Gospel from John, (Jn 5: 31-47), the argument continues. Jesus’ constant point of reference is the Father, the Father who witnesses to the Son. In fact, Jesus says, “Were I to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid; but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is valid.” His hearers, who are his enemies, are not going to accept what he says, but the Gospel has been written to make sure that we, his disciples, do accept his word and his teaching.

 

​Jesus compares himself with John the Baptist, whom many took to be the Messiah.

“John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave. But my testimony is greater than John’s: the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me.”

John himself said something very similar, that whereas he baptised with water as a sign of repentance, Jesus would baptise with fire and the Holy Spirit, actually forgiving sin and filling those who are forgiven with the grace of the Spirit, God’s own life. In other words, there is no comparison. Jesus goes on to say that not only the Father gives testimony to him but the Scriptures too. “You study the scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life!” It always saddens me when people reject the love of Jesus and fail to believe in him. Their loss is irreplaceable. So many people today have given up on faith in Jesus Christ, for all sorts of reasons, often on account of indifference or relativism. To them Jesus says, “You have no love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me.” Let us pray for ourselves, that we might always accept him, and for those who are lapsed, that they might return to him.