Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 5, 31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
The testimony
1) “The testimony he gives on my behalf is true”. When you meet Christ, when you really find him, you have a beautiful experience that changes your life, and you also ‘irradiate’ Christ. It’s like you “Christify” yourself, because by having him in you, you take him to others. It’s like when you fall in love: your mind and heart begin to revolve around that person you love. This is the same idea; that person you revolve around is Jesus. It may sound very romantic, but it isn’t; it’s more than romance, it’s a whole change in your lifestyle.
2) Your salvation. Of course, God wants you to be eternal. This is the path we have been walking along. You are called to eternity, to have a great life. You deserve to live well but this way of living means a change of attitude towards life itself. There are people who’ve come into your life and have given testimony to help you seek eternity, because they’ve experienced God’s love and strength and they want to share it with you.
3) Having life. By having Jesus in you and managing, through his grace, to live the lifestyle He has taught, you become a person of life. I don’t doubt that there will be thorns along your life path, but it’s Jesus who leads you to see life in a different way. You are very much alive; don’t let the culture of death or a lifeless religion get into you, because Christ came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
Remember that something good is on the way! God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
