In today’s Gospel Jesus is very blunt with the crowd He is addressing. He believes that “Abraham’s children” are following the teachings of Abraham instead of God. He chastised them saying: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
Jesus came as the new covenant; the new promise from God, so that we would have a path back into unity with him in heaven. Even though sin is still an everyday struggle, we have hope.
I find it hard to believe that the people Jesus was speaking to weren’t convinced that He was the Son of God. It’s crazy to think that two thousand years later we aren’t able to walk alongside Jesus physically but we still believe that He is the Son of God.
When I was in Vatican City looking around St. Peter’s Basilica I saw so many people from different cultures and different ways of life and what brought them all together was the Catholic faith. As God’s children we can reflect on how we’ve gotten to this point by recalling all the disciples, saints, martyrs and missionaries throughout Church history who joyfully spread the Word of God.
The Catholic faith is alive, and we should be joyful. As we get ready for Holy Week and the Easter season, let us remember that not only was Jesus sent from the Father as His Beloved Son but that we are also His beloved children, and because of His sacrifice we have a place with Him in heaven as well.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús es muy directo con la multitud a la que se dirige. Él cree que los “hijos de Abraham” siguen las enseñanzas de Abraham en lugar de las de Dios. Los reprendió diciendo: “Si Dios fuera su Padre me amarían a mí, porque yo salí de Dios y vengo de Dios; no he venido por mi cuenta, sino enviado por él”.
Jesús vino como la nueva alianza; la nueva promesa de Dios, para que tuviéramos un camino de regreso a la unidad con él en el cielo. Aunque el pecado sigue siendo una lucha diaria, tenemos esperanza. Me resulta difícil creer que la gente a la que Jesús se dirigía no estuviera convencida de que era el Hijo de Dios. Es una locura pensar que dos mil años después no podemos caminar físicamente junto a Jesús, pero todavía creemos que es el Hijo de Dios.
Cuando estaba en la Ciudad del Vaticano mirando la Basílica de San Pedro, vi a tanta gente de diferentes culturas y diferentes formas de vida y lo que los unía a todos era la fe católica. Como hijos de Dios, podemos reflexionar sobre cómo hemos llegado a este punto recordando a todos los discípulos, santos, mártires y misioneros que a lo largo de la historia de la Iglesia difundieron con alegría la Palabra de Dios.
La fe católica está viva y debemos estar alegres. Mientras nos preparamos para la Semana Santa y la Pascua, recordemos que Jesús no solo fue enviado por el Padre como Su Hijo Amado, sino que nosotros también somos Sus hijos amados y, debido a Su sacrificio, también tenemos un lugar en el cielo con Él.
Ben Hooper is originally from Maryland, having been adopted from Korea and growing up in the Catholic faith. He went to Franciscan University to dive deeper into his faith and eventually graduated with a degree in Business Management. He loves musical theater, sports, spending time with his fiancé Lily and their dog Kolbe.
Feature Image Credit: Anna Rynkowska, pexels.com/photo/path-on-a-field-during-sunset-26289003/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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