THE FATHER

Jesus is in dangerous territory and He knows it. He equates Himself on familiar terms with God the Father as His own father. To the Jewish mind,God as father to the individual was forbidden. No Jew would dare allow himself to be so familiar with the Father. They knew God is the Father of all, but no one had ultimate claim on God as their father. As Jesus spoke with them about the Father in intimate ways, they struggled with thoughts of how He could speak like that. Jesus is using very odd language in referring to the Father. He speaks of working with the Father, listening to the Father, doing what the Father does and acting upon the will of the Father. This is all too much for the Jews and they would do anything to destroy a man who familiarizes himself in this way with the Father. The Jews judge Jesus as a blasphemer and deserves punishment, nothing less than death. Jesus is the One sent by the Father, a common theme that we see in the Gospel of John. The theme of Jesus is the Father. It is like His pet topic. He cannot speak enough of the Father. Jesus delights that we can have the same relationship with the Father. With the insight of the resurrection, we can see what Jesus means in His relationship to the Father. We, too, have that same access to the Father through the death and resurrection of the Son. God the Father has given this authority to the Son that whoever believes in Him has eternal life. For John, believing is equivalent to having eternal life. Jesus is the image of the Father. He is the Word of the Father. To see Jesus is to see the Father. To follow Jesus is to follow the Father. To love Jesus is to love the Father. Let us give thanks to Jesus for showing us the way to the Father. What an amazing gift we have in Jesus who opens to us the love and acceptance of the Father. Let us not be afraid to approach the Father through Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.Fr. Brian Steele, MGL   Reflection Question: Do you know the Father?   Lord Jesus, You are the loving image of the Father. Help us to love You and follow You, because in doing this, we love and follow the Father. Amen.   St. Rufina, pray for us.