Commentary on the Gospel of
Father-Son relationship – a revolution! - John 5:17-30
My Father is at work until now, so I am at work
Broke the sabbath; called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him
One of the radical, revolutionary teachings of Jesus Christ is the revelation of the God-image as the Father in intimate relationship with the Son. Before the advent of Jesus Christ, different world religions could, at best, describe God analogically as the father. It was unknown of any religion that had prayer addressing God as ‘one’s own father’. Thus, they could explain what God looks like using the father-figure attributes. The Jesus’ revolution is resounding! He teaches us that ‘God is not just like a father, that God is his/our Father.’ And so, he asserts: ‘My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.’
Obviously, to the Jews, Jesus went overboard! For that reason, they wanted him dead, for them he had blasphemed. According to them by calling God his Father, he made him his equal! Upon their death-threat, our Lord went even further to say ‘Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.’ No fears in the face of the truth!
What a moving scene, watching the 45 years old Catholic nun, Sr. Ann Roza Nu Tawng, dressed in her religious habit, fearlessly kneeling in front of the fully armed Myanmar police, pleading with them not to shoot at the protesters. She was deeply convinced and staked her life for death in defence of the defenceless! She copies the example of her Master, Jesus the Lord. Truth is fearless! Our Lord knows what He talks about and stands His ground. He is from heaven! What about you and I? Are we convinced enough; do we believe enough to the extent that our faith-expression fears no opposition? The first step in defence of the truth is to oneself: reawakening the self-consciousness that sin is evil and does me no good.
As we progress in our Lenten observances, let’s dare to take the risk of defending our belief in God who is our Father. Jesus did that, the martyrs followed His footsteps. Lord Jesus be our strength, keep us close to the Father in the face of threats.
