Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8,31-42
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 a 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 are not illegitimate. 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.
Living in reality
1) Truth: Truth is something that you and I are called to live, but there are times when we live a lie. When we fall into living a lie, we even lie to ourselves. Perhaps it is because we do not accept our pain or because we simply do not accept our reality. Today, Jesus shows you that even in the hardest moments He lives in truth, and is not deceived. He accepts it and is aware of what He is doing. But if you, at this stage of your life, do not accept what you are living, and your way of living generates lies, you are not living in reality. I will tell you, crudely, that one consequence of this is victimization. Jesus did not victimize himself; he did not kick the ball to the side, he took charge of His life.
2) Freedom: Freedom is a beautiful thing that we see in Jesus. He truly lived in freedom. How often we are tied to people or words? This makes us slaves, even slaves to sin. Sin that is everywhere. When you are not free, anguish manifests itself because it is something that oppresses you. You have a weight on your chest that does not allow you to be yourself. There are slaves whose hands are tied, and then there are other slaves whose souls are tied.
3) Charity: The key to being free and living in truth is to love. Not by initially loving the other… it is by loving and valuing yourself. When you value yourself, it is from there that you can go on to love others. Stop surrounding yourself in lies that do nothing but accommodate you. Live in the truth: even if at the beginning you cry, because it is preferable to feel pain but be free, rather than to be floating on a cushion of air, but really you are enslaved by others. God, with His Love, gave us the most beautiful thing, “freedom”.
God-bless you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget heaven is our goal !
