Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent -- April 6, 2011
John 5:17 – 30
In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
In the meditation on John 9 (last Sunday’s reading), I wrote about spiritual seeing and spiritual blindness. A growing, deepening spirituality impacts our perception of God, self, others and the created world.
When I talk about seeing in those four realms, I try intentionally to list God first. To me, that seems to be the first and most crucial seeing that spirituality alters. The rest of our seeing flows out of that most central act of vision.
Once again, this passage hinges on seeing. This time, Jesus saw what God was doing, then mirrored the God-action in his own experience. He only did “what he sees the Father doing.” In fact, in the first few verses of the text, Jesus expressed the essence of his mission as doing what the Father does.
God works . . . and Jesus works.
God does . . . and Jesus does.
God loves . . . and Jesus loves.
Sometimes folks say things like, “I want to invite God to be with me today,” or “I want God to help me with this decision or that decision.” It’s a good sentiment, but I think it inverts the God-intended order of life. In short, we ask God to bless what we do and where we go. We seek God’s blessing on our plans. In a sense, we determine our course, then hope and pray God comes along.
Jesus lived in a different rhythm. His first movement was to notice where God was at work already. He did not ask for God’s blessing on his life-plans. He first paused to see where God was at work, to notice what God was doing in the world.
From that noticing, Jesus then joined in what the Father was doing. He did only what God did.
I hear in the passage an invitation to a deeper seeing, to noticing what God is doing in the world. This requires discernment on our part. The work of discernment distinguishes the action of God from everything else that goes on in the world.
Before we can do what God does, before we can join God in the world, we have to be able to see what God is doing, to lay aside our human inclinations enough to see with non-attached eyes.
Personally, I find silence, solitude, and regular times for prayer and reflection to be essential for my seeing. No, I don’t always see well what God is doing in the world, and sometimes when I do see, I refuse to join in. This is a growing edge for me . . . probably for most of us.
As Jesus suggested, God doesn’t seem to have an interest in blessing our life-plans. God seems to be much more interested that we join in the healing, loving, and redeeming work that God has initiated already in the world.
In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
In the meditation on John 9 (last Sunday’s reading), I wrote about spiritual seeing and spiritual blindness. A growing, deepening spirituality impacts our perception of God, self, others and the created world.
When I talk about seeing in those four realms, I try intentionally to list God first. To me, that seems to be the first and most crucial seeing that spirituality alters. The rest of our seeing flows out of that most central act of vision.
Once again, this passage hinges on seeing. This time, Jesus saw what God was doing, then mirrored the God-action in his own experience. He only did “what he sees the Father doing.” In fact, in the first few verses of the text, Jesus expressed the essence of his mission as doing what the Father does.
God works . . . and Jesus works.
God does . . . and Jesus does.
God loves . . . and Jesus loves.
Sometimes folks say things like, “I want to invite God to be with me today,” or “I want God to help me with this decision or that decision.” It’s a good sentiment, but I think it inverts the God-intended order of life. In short, we ask God to bless what we do and where we go. We seek God’s blessing on our plans. In a sense, we determine our course, then hope and pray God comes along.
Jesus lived in a different rhythm. His first movement was to notice where God was at work already. He did not ask for God’s blessing on his life-plans. He first paused to see where God was at work, to notice what God was doing in the world.
From that noticing, Jesus then joined in what the Father was doing. He did only what God did.
I hear in the passage an invitation to a deeper seeing, to noticing what God is doing in the world. This requires discernment on our part. The work of discernment distinguishes the action of God from everything else that goes on in the world.
Before we can do what God does, before we can join God in the world, we have to be able to see what God is doing, to lay aside our human inclinations enough to see with non-attached eyes.
Personally, I find silence, solitude, and regular times for prayer and reflection to be essential for my seeing. No, I don’t always see well what God is doing in the world, and sometimes when I do see, I refuse to join in. This is a growing edge for me . . . probably for most of us.
As Jesus suggested, God doesn’t seem to have an interest in blessing our life-plans. God seems to be much more interested that we join in the healing, loving, and redeeming work that God has initiated already in the world.
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