Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
April 6, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: John 8:31-42
The argument between Jesus and his antagonists continues in this reading. Jesus calls himself a liberator. His hearers reply that they are children of Abraham and don’t need liberation. They enjoy the blessings that God promised to Abraham–blessings that no political oppression can take from them.
Jesus replies that if they are in sin it doesn’t matter who their father is, because they are still sinners–still slaves. They reply that their real father is God. Jesus answered that God can’t possibly be their father if they don’t accept him–Jesus–the one God had sent to free them.
Jesus liberates us, too. He makes us God’s children. And if the Father of Jesus is our father, nothing can enslave us.
