Daily Gospel Reflection – December 16, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron
December 16, 2022
Friday of the Third Week in Advent
Gospel: Jn 5:33-36
Jesus said to the Jews:
“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.”
*United States Conference of Catholic
Bishop Robert Barron
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says that his Father’s works testify to his identity. Jesus’ words are the Father’s words, and his deeds are the Father’s deeds. His story is the Father’s story.
Nature speaks of God, the philosophers say true things about God, the arts can reflect him, the lives of the saints can indicate him—but Jesus is the Icon.
We sense in this passage, if I can put it this way, the humility of the Logos. Neither the words nor the deeds of Jesus are "his own." They are received from the Father. The Trinitarian theological tradition respects this when it speaks of the Son as the interior word of the Father and as having received everything from the Father.
COMMENTS