If God Were Your Father…!

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Dan 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Jn 8:31-42

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is clearing a misconception of those who believed in him. 

Though the Jews claim that they are children of God and descendants of Abraham, their behaviour does not match their privileged claim and stands very far from the truth of it. 

On his part, Jesus is clearing the depth of their misconception and showing how they can redeem themselves through their faith in him. 

Jesus talks of three indicators that falsify their privileged claim.

1.Thier Sinfulness: They imagine the material conditions of slavery when Jesus talks of their slavery to sinfulness. The chosen people of God and the descendants of Abraham care little about living up to their noble identity. 

2. Their Disbelief: They reject Jesus, who was sent by God. Those who called God their Father should have accepted the Son of God as their sibling. But they do not. Their misunderstanding of Jesus’ identity leads to his eventual rejection. 

3. Their Deviation: Jesus is more emphatic when he indicates their deviant living. The statement ‘You are doing the works of your father’ falsifies their claim and exposes that they are neither faithful to God nor to Abraham nor to the one sent by God. 

The ideal and actual are two different things. The actual should rise to meet the ideal in order to clear any delusions in spiritual life.

Let us pray for the grace to be true to our identity as Christians. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar