HOW SINS BLIND US - 04/01/22 (Friday of the 4th Week of Lent)

John 7:26-28,30

26 And here He is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to Him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 Yet we know where this man comes from; and when the Christ appears, no one will know where He comes from." 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as He taught in the temple, "You know Me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of My own accord; He who sent Me is true, and Him you do not know.

30 So they sought to arrest Him; but no one laid hands on Him, because His hour had not yet come.

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Blessed Friday! When we are guilty of pride, we think as if we already know things, and we no longer need to learn from other people. The Jews in Jerusalem thought they already knew where Jesus came from, but they were mistaken. Even if they had knowledge that He came from Nazareth, their pride blinded them from realizing that He came from the Father. As our Lord was preaching in Jerusalem, the authorities tried to arrest Him and wanted to kill Him. Perhaps, they did not like the message of the gospel of our Lord because it's against their own sinful lifestyle. When we are consumed by pride, anger, and other sins, we will easily think that others are attacking us when we see that our actions are against the truth from God. 

There is a tendency for us to be defensive and justify our sins when other people correct us, even when God reveals it to us through our conscience. But, we should look at things from a different perspective, from the perspective of God. Jesus does not attack us or mock us. Rather, He shows us and reveals to us the truth. The reason why Jesus told the Jews that they did not know where He came from was for them to be humble and accept the truth He preached. Even though our sins offend Him and pierce His Most Sacred Heart, in His Mercy, He still grants us numerous opportunities to repent and change our ways. Our Lord loves all of us, even the authorities who wanted to kill Him. 

Although the authorities attempted to arrest Him, they were not successful because His hour had not yet come. It was not yet the hour of His Passion and death. But, our Lord is showing us the interior sufferings He experienced even before bearing the cross in Jerusalem. He truly suffered seeing how His people were in need of His mercy, but they rejected it because of their pride and other sins, including their desire of killing their own Creator. If we become fully obedient to the will of God, we will be given a share to the sufferings of Jesus. Because the teachings of the Catholic Church are against the sinful ways of the world, we may experience oppression and persecution from other people. We should expect to suffer for our faith. And yet, there is nothing to worry because He is always at our side. 

The hour of our death has not yet come, but it will come someday. This is why we should not waste the opportunities that God give to us for us to follow Him and turn away from our sins. Are we willing to depend more on God's graces to reject pride, anger and other sins? Are we willing to be faithful to our Lord even amidst the sufferings we experience, now and at the hour of our death? Let's open our minds and hearts to the truth of Christ. Our Lord is there to watch over us and guide us as we walk in His ways. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic