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.”~John 8: 31-42
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let us praise the Lord always.
In today’s Gospel reflection, we are confronted with our enslavement to sin. We can find it difficult to accept the reality of this enslavement because of our ignorance and pride. We find ourselves relying on our own misguided judgments.
Therefore, like the Jewish leadership, we are too arrogant to accept the freedom Christ offers us. Christ clearly stated to the leaders of the Jews, “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.” Therefore, if we immerse ourselves in Christ, we are delivered from slavery. Though this is put so simply or can be considered easy, as many can testify, it is not. Just like the Jews, we claim to follow God but continue to persecute Christ daily.
So let us turn to Scripture and our theological studies to learn as much as we can of Our Lord. It is in finding and cultivating a relationship with Christ that we will fear the Lord. Not only fear of judgment but fear of losing the Love we have for Him. Let us overflow with the desire for eternal life with him. To give our entire selves to His will so that we may be free of sin and live like true Christians.
What are your thoughts on today’s Gospel? (Please share in the Comments)
God Bless!