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 the 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 were not born of fornication. 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."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for those who are unemployed.
Most people point to what they know. I can tell you, from my experience, where to get good Chinese food for a great price in Phoenix, AZ. I can tell you where is a good place to ride a road bike in the city. I can tell you where you can go for adoration if you needed to be present before Our Lord in the middle of the night.
I can tell you these things because of my experience. If you came to visit, I would want to tell you about good places in town.
Sometimes, when my family visits, they want to go to places that they know. Maybe it's a chain restaurant that they are familiar with. Maybe it's a place that they heard about over the Internet. Either way, it makes it a challenge to share from my experience.
The Jews who questioned Jesus knew Abraham. They knew the scriptures and they knew the tradition. What they did not know was that the Man they questioned is the fulfillment of the scriptures and would bright light to their traditions. I wonder if they were more concerned with knowing and seeking.
For many years, I always felt like I was coming from a point of not knowing. I did not grow up in a family that went to Mass on Sundays. We never prayed together, and the only scriptures I knew came from homework assignments while going to Catholic school. Yet, as the years have progressed, I know that I have learned more ... and more ... and still more. It is through that continued "seeking and finding" that I can trust that there more beyond what little I know.
It makes me wonder, then, about the role of knowledge. We know that it is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If we are blessed with that gift, is it then an invitation to continue to seek? If that is the case, then are all the gifts that we have been given an invitation from Our Lord to enter into union with Him ... to truly be a branch on the vine?
If this is the case, then aren't we all invited to be humble? Take care and God Bless.
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