From the responsorial psalm: “”Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.” Glory and praise for ever!”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 8:31-42, today’s readings)
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.”
By saying this and testifying even more strongly, Jesus makes clear that he comes from the Father and was sent by him. “I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence; then do what you have heard from the Father.” Despite this, they fail to recognize that Jesus comes to offer them freedom from slavery to sin by remaining in the truth of his word. “We have,” they say, “never been enslaved.” As Jesus offers to free them from sin, he invites them into his Father’s presence as adopted sons and daughters. “A son always remains free.” Still, they call Abraham their father and reject what Jesus teaches them as one who hears the truth of the Father and was sent by him. Consider this: Jesus did not come to coerce and crush opponents but to offer himself freely in sacrifice to destroy death and rise to new life so that we might come into his Father’s household—free forever.
God, help me recognize your gift of freedom we have in choosing Jesus to set us free in his truth. Remaining in his word—the Word that is you and what was from the beginning—I can choose not to roam as a slave of sin but instead find myself as a son in your household today and for endless length of days. In Jesus, your Son, let me place all of my hope and trust. He tells us as a man who has told us the truth of what he heard from you and at the same time as one who “came from God and [is] here.” Give me the grace, Lord, to persevere in choosing to remain in the Word. Jesus, I trust in you!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.