April 6, 2011

Read It:
Jesus answered the Jews:
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so 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.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”

Reflect on It:
My favorite part of this entire passage is where Jesus says "I can not do anything on my own". Here we are smack towards the end of Lent and we have the gentle reminder that we can do nothing on our own. I know that as I work through my sacrifices and I'm failing miserably at them, I ask myself if I'm praying through them. I can not do anything on my own. Am I truly trusting the Lord to help me? Am I even asking him? As we go about the rest of lent, I think this is a great question to ask ourselves...are we attempting to do our prayer, fasting and almsgiving without Christ's help?

Pray about it: Our Father, who art in Heaven, help me today! I can not do anything on my own. Help me to see my dependence on you.

Live It! Challenge: Go to confession today from 6:30-8:00 pm at any church in the Diocese of Arlington or the Archdiocese of Washington, DC