The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Scripture from Wednesday's Liturgy of the Word:
Acts 12:24--13:5
Psalm 67:2-3,5-6,8
John 12:44-50

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

“Whoever does not accept my words...
it is that which will condemn him. . .” (John 12:48)

Today’s Gospel shows that there are two distinct sides to salvation--God’s and ours. On one hand the Father has given us His Living Word, Christ, who came into the world to be our light, to reveal God’s truths to all humanity. On the other hand, to make salvation ours, we must accept God’s Word and live in the light of His truth with the same self-giving love Christ showed for us by dying on the cross to expiate our sin.

Some insist they are “saved,” but haven’t any notion that Christ’s death on the cross is to be a life-changing event for them. Jesus died to restore us to friendship with God, but to remain in His friendship we must also assume Christ’s cross, actually make those sacrifices needed to live in His Word. It would be hypocrisy for us to count ourselves “saved” while continuing to live in sin, conducting our lives in the same way as we did before our encounter with Christ.

Christ tells us He did not come to condemn us; we condemn ourselves if we refuse to be spiritually, morally transformed in the very image of Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to mold us in the likeness of our heavenly Father’s One Son. Only those will be welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom whose souls bear within them Christ’s image.

Redeemer God,
imbue us with a repentant spirit
and the desire to reform our lives
in keeping with Your loving will.
Amen.

- Marie Bocko, ocds
(mlbocko at borg dot com)

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posted by joachim at 4:27 AM