John 5:17-30

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.
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.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

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.

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

Considering this passage, I am compelled to think of the mystery of the Trinity, specifically about the human nature of Jesus. Many heresies have been promulgated over the years trying to explain away either Jesus’s human or divine nature. And it is indeed, very difficult to understand how God, the creator of the universe, the most wise, and powerful being in all the universe, could fit Himself into the very small, very finite, and very weak confines of the human form. But He did it, and He did it in a way that perfectly maintains His divinity and His humanity at the same time.

Jesus was 100% human, in every way but sin. And he was 100% Divine, in every way but omnipotennce, onmicience, and omnipresence. This is hard for us to understand, our meek little minds are not big enough to comprehend this mystery. But Jesus show us that it is possible, to exist as both divine God and mortal human at the same time. But even more than that, as a human God, He shows us that it is possible to do God’s will perfectly as a human; that it is possible to live out the plan that He had for all mankind from before the fall; and that is is possible to live a life of complete obedience to God, while at the same time completely rejecting sin.

The way this is done is by love and complete trust, in God the Father. Every single time that Jesus found Himself at the limits of human ability, He turned to God in prayer, and trusting in God’s love, He allowed God’s will to be done, not His own. Jesus in His human form, is not able to understand the great infinite plan that God has set in motion, and is directing from heaven, with His infinite, and awesome mind, But what Jesus can do is trust in God the Father to direct Him to what is good true and beautiful.

Of all of the things that Jesus came to teach us, I think that this is one of the most important things that we could ever learn, that God is ever watchful, that He loves you, and He wants the best for you at all times, and that if you trust Him and allow His will to be done that the glory of God, and His eternal plan for our lives will be brought to fruition. And as a humble disciple, if we folow this plan, we too will be with Him at the end of time. There is nothing more important than that, and there is nothing that we should ever want more than that.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Oh lord, increase my faith, strengthen my trust, and dispose my will to be aligned with your will for me and my life. Amen.