John 5:17-30 The Father At Work In Us

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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.”

When the Jews figured out who Jesus was making himself out to be, they tried all the more to kill him.  When the Apostles figured out who Jesus is, they tried all the more to imitate him. 

There are three kinds of people in the world:  those who love the Lord; those who could care less of the Lord; and those who hate the Lord. 

Unfortunately, some people in the first group are afraid to admit their love for the Lord.  They fear being mocked and ridiculed.  And so they tend to forget what our Lord experienced and what he also predicted. 

Those who belong to the second and third group tend to consider the first group as “privileged.”  They are correct, but only in the sense that Christ is the only religious leader that can be openly mocked and ridiculed in a society that claims to be “tolerant”.  Try mocking any other group in our society (other than Christians) and see how the political correct police come out in force. 

I’m not saying this to shock anyone.  We all know it’s true.  It’s just that I believe this is what happens to us when the Lord is not at work in us.

On another point, I recently read in the newspapers how some claim (again) that Christianity is a dying faith, especially among teenagers.  It turns out that religious fervor among teens is at an all time low.  Some experts would like us to believe that they have become “enlightened” as a result of it.  One would almost believe it if it weren’t for reality.  Luckily, other experts keep track of other key performance indicators for teens as well, such as number of teens on meds, busted for illegal drugs, on parole, in divorced families, with eating disorders and mental issues, in trouble with the law; and unable to read or write after graduating from High School.

I’m not saying this to shock anyone.  We all know it’s true.  It’s just that I believe this is what happens to us when the Lord is not at work in us.

Sometimes I wonder if our “social engineers” are not manipulating and bending our youth and families to near breaking point just to see how far (down) they can go in their quest to construct a new world order and/or specie!  Is this and the most recent decisions the best that a secular society can do for the modern man?  Make certain soft drink sizes illegal and soft drugs legal? 

I find it all ridiculously funny and pathetically prophetic!

The Father at work in us.  As the Father wished to work through His Son, so now the Son would love to work through us.  Let’s give Him permission!  Let’s allow the Lord to be the greatest influence in our lives.  Nothing else!  What does it take?  Humility. 

This past Sunday, a young man came up to me and introduced himself to me after Mass.  He asked me if I knew his mother.  I told him I didn’t.  He asked me if I had heard of him.  I told him I hadn’t.  It was then that he told me it had been ten long years since he had stepped foot inside a Catholic Church.  He couldn’t believe that the Gospel of the day had been the Prodigal Son.  He thought that maybe I had selected it just for him.  I told him I hadn’t but was glad the Lord had. 

This is what happens when the Lord works through His Mystical Body, the Church.

Resolution:  I allow the Lord to take charge of all my words and actions.  Whatever I say and do, I will say it and do it with the Lord.  In other words, I say it and do it with Love.   

Therefore, in all the people I meet, in all the distractions that come in front of my path, I will greet them and meet them as if this “meeting” had been organized by the Lord himself.  Nothing will be considered as random when it comes to “distractions.”  No one will be considered as random when it comes to people getting in my way.  When it comes to sharing the Good News with others, this time, this place, this person will not be considered as random but instead the Lord’s time, the Lord’s way, and the Lord’s face.