Daily Gospel Reflection
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March 30, 2022
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.”
What is the Lord saying to you today? Close your eyes and listen. Not with your ears, but with your heart, memories, and will. Surrender your will over to him, remember how he has loved you, and feel where he tugs at your heart deep down.
What is the work of the Son? The Son is always at work because the Father is always at work. He is always speaking to us. He comes to heal us, just as he healed the man ill for thirty-eight years moments before today’s gospel passage.
We, too, are blind like the Jews who misunderstand and persecute Jesus for healing on the sabbath. Our sin renders us invalid, unable to worship God as we are intended, just as the blind and the lame in Jesus’ time were disallowed from worshipping in the Temple. But Jesus comes to us from the Father to heal us.
In our sin, we are dead, but Jesus comes to give us life and life eternal. He promises, “The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
We hear his voice, believe in him, and believe in the Father. This is the work of God—to believe in him and live.
Healed with sight, wholeness, and new life, we come to say with Jesus, “We cannot do anything on our own, but only what we see the Father doing; for what he does, we will do also.” This new life is to hear God’s voice and join in God’s life-giving work. Christ works in us our healing, and our recovery enables us to work in him.
Prayer
Tender and merciful God, in the intimate love between you and Jesus, your Son, we see the divine friendship we are called to share. Pour forth your Spirit upon us to draw us into your love ever more fully. We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. John was a seventh-century monk who was known as “the Scholar” until people referred to him after his famous written work, the Ladder (“Klimax”) of Divine Ascent.
Scholars believe he came from Palestine and was a student of St. Gregory Nazianzen. When John was 16, he joined a community of monks living on Mt. Sinai. He was placed under the direction of an older monk, who helped him master his desires and behavior.
When John was 35, his mentor died, and he went to live in a hermitage. He spent the next 40 years seeking perfection in solitude and prayer and study—it is said that he was one of the most learned of the desert fathers.
Many people sought him out for spiritual direction because of his wisdom. He had a gift for helping people find healing for their troubled and disordered souls.
Over time, he collected his insights into his work, the Ladder of Divine Ascent, which described 30 degrees towards attaining spiritual perfection—the first being renunciation and the last being full incorporation of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. The work had a profound effect on the development of Christian spirituality. The icon shown here depicts St. John leading monks up a ladder that leads to Jesus.
When John was 70, the abbot of a nearby monastery passed away, and John was selected to replace him. When a severe drought devastated the region, the people asked him to pray for relief, and rain came. John was so well-known at the time that Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote to him to ask for his prayers, and to send resources to assist the monastery in hosting the many pilgrims who traveled there to be in the presence of the holy man. John died in 649 of old age.
St. John Climacus, you sought perfection in the desert and left behind a profound guide to spirituality, pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. John Climacus is in the public domain. Modified from the original. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons. (2) The icon "Ladder of Divine Ascent" is also in the public domain. Last accessed February 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
