Apr
03
2019
By Anonymous (not verified)
The Marian Fathers present this Lenten devotional series to help you prepare to receive graces on Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday.
Readings: Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18; Jn 5:17-30
Diary: 6, 24, 120
"The Father loves the Son." - Jn 5:20
Today's Gospel reading picks up where yesterday's ended. Jesus has just cured a man on the Sabbath. We know some of the Jewish leaders already wanted to arrest Jesus. Today, we see "they tried all the more to kill him" (Jn 5:18).
Why? Because Jesus defended His work of healing on the Sabbath by saying, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work" (Jn 5:17). His listeners understood what He was saying: God is His Father; He is the Son of God; He is the face of the Father's mercy. Not only is Jesus more esteemed than the leaders, but He announces that He's equal to God.
If Jesus does the same thing as the Father, what does the Father do? He gives life! "For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself " (Jn 5:26). The people who accepted Jesus were already receiving eternal life:
Readings: Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9, 13CD-14, 17-18; Jn 5:17-30
Diary: 6, 24, 120
"The Father loves the Son." - Jn 5:20
Today's Gospel reading picks up where yesterday's ended. Jesus has just cured a man on the Sabbath. We know some of the Jewish leaders already wanted to arrest Jesus. Today, we see "they tried all the more to kill him" (Jn 5:18).
Why? Because Jesus defended His work of healing on the Sabbath by saying, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work" (Jn 5:17). His listeners understood what He was saying: God is His Father; He is the Son of God; He is the face of the Father's mercy. Not only is Jesus more esteemed than the leaders, but He announces that He's equal to God.
If Jesus does the same thing as the Father, what does the Father do? He gives life! "For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself " (Jn 5:26). The people who accepted Jesus were already receiving eternal life:
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life (Jn 5:24).
The Father has sent the Son to bring us life. This Lent, take time to meditate on Jesus' words of life.
Prayer: Today I pray with St. Faustina, "Jesus, I trust in You!"
Missed a day? See previous "From Ashes to Mercy" daily meditations.
ddburg
