THE ONE SENT BY THE FATHER


FRIDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF LENT   

Wis 2:1,12-22; Ps 34:16,18-21,23; Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30

The Origin of the Son of Man

The Son of Man is the Eternal Word of God dwelling in our human nature. He is the embodiment of God the Father’s holy will and teaches us the same will. But the identity of the Son of Man is only revealed to faith and not to our human senses. Hence, the Son of Man comes as the revelation of the Father’s immutable will only to the faithful. Those who lack faith in the word of God are deprived of the knowledge of the divine origin of the word of God in the scriptures and as given to us in the Son of Man. As we noted earlier in the previous reflections, the Incarnation of the Eternal Word has renewed the entire creation as a sacrament of God’s presence. So, those who believe in his coming in human nature receive the gift of faith, which enables them to attain certainty on what remains unseen but made present through the visible realities. The chief among the visible things that act as the sacrament of the unseen God is the humanity of our Lord. Through the spiritual light which faith in him offers to us as believers, we are able to receive his life within us, and understand all things with the light he sheds on us through the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

With the aid of the Holy Spirit, who gives and sustains our new spiritual life in Jesus Christ, we are able to know the true origin of all things and events. Lacking the presence of wisdom because of their rejection of the word of God, the unbelievers are ignorant of the inspirations behind the life, thoughts, and actions of the faithful. They suppose that the thoughts and actions of the faithful or righteous souls are personally motivated. The book of Wisdom describes the mistaken opinion of the unbelievers about the faithful. “The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning: ‘Our life is short and dreary, for is there any relief when man’s end comes, for is anyone known who can give release from Hades. Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law, and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.” We see that the loss of spiritual light by sinners is the cause of their attack on the virtuous.

Subsequently, if the faithful see the true realities and their meaning from their divine origin due to the indwelling of the word of God in them, by which they participate in the life of the Son of Man, it follows that the attacks of sinners on the virtuous are ultimately aimed at the Son of Man. Every attack we inordinately direct at others is our attack on Jesus Christ. This is because such actions are not prompted by the Holy Spirit, but by selfish considerations; their motives do not serve God’s will, but human sinful wills. The absence of spiritual light in us disables us from seeing the other person as part of God’s plan. We see the same thing in the Gospel as the Jews attack the Son of Man. “Meanwhile, some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ?” The Lord states their unbelief as the cause of their rejection and attack on him. “Yes, you know me and you know where I came from. Yet I have not come of myself: no, there is one who sent me and I really come from him, and you do not know him, but I know him because I come from him and it was he who sent me.” Our lack of knowledge of God causes us to attack and kill the one he sends to us. We pray for grace through these Paschal mysteries we celebrate, to grow in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, whom God sends to us.

Let us pray: O God, who have prepared fitting helps for us in our weakness, grant, we pray, that we may receive their healing effects with joy and reflect them in a holy way of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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