The Fidelity of Christ

Title: The Fidelity of Christ

Date: March 16, 1988 - Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Readings: Isaiah 49:8-15 / Psalm 145:8-9,13-14,17-18 / John 5:17-30

Our long Gospel today calls to mind the extraordinary unity of Christ with the Father. Various members of the Jewish community plotted to kill him, not simply because they viewed him as violating the Sabbath by healing the sick; but most importantly, because they saw him speaking about God as his Father. For him to make himself an equal to God would seem to violate their stark monotheism, that there is but one God. Jesus attempts in his answer to resolve this very real question. He begins by explaining that there is no competition or inner rivalry in God. The Son follows the will of the Father and none other. He explains that the Father loves the Son, and indeed, the Church would identify this love as also being God, the Holy Spirit. The Son is God's self-expression in the world. He comes so that we may more fully know God and possess eternal life. The damage due to our sins had seemed irreparable. Man owed a dept which left to his own resources he could never repay. Only God could eradicate the indignity to Himself which we showed him by our sins. By becoming a human being, the price we owed was repaid by the only one who could possibly pay it, God. We see in all these words, not only an explanation of who God is but also of his plan to save us. Totally submissive to the Father's will, he shows us the way of obedience and life. Like Lazarus before us all those who recognize his voice will one day emerge from the tombs to live. Those who have rejected his word will fall back into the grave, into that prison which we call hell. Let it be our prayer, that we will all recognize that Christ is indeed the Lord of our lives, the one in whom we have placed our trust, the Son of God, who now calls us to follow in his footsteps as God's adopted children.