Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Ernie Lagura SVD – Univeristy of San Carlos, Cebu City
Thursday 5th Week of Lent
What is our attitude towards faith in God? When Jesus’teaching is difficult to understand, do we wish to subject it to a lab test?
Jesus revealed Himself to the Jews: “Whoever is from God, hears the word of God.’ (John 8,47). The Jews rejected Him and did not believe His word because they already made the conclusion that he was a Samaritan and had a demon.” (John 8,48) . They did not believe that He was the Son of God – so they concluded that He was lying when He said that He saw Abraham (John 8,56-59).
Faith in God is, in the final analysis, a gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot understand everything that we are invited to believe in. Oherwise, there would be no need for faith. You accept it because you understand it – not because you believe in it.
Faith presupposes a degree of humility on our part. We are only creatures of God with a limited capacity to understand and a finite ability to learn. For tenets of faith that ask for a “leap of faith,” we embrace them because of the testimony of Jesus and other witnesses. His incarnation, life, passion, death and resurrection bear witness to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the son of God” (John 11:25- 27). “And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1;24). Jesus’ testimony is greater than that of John’s: “The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me, has himself testified on my behalf” (John 5:31-38).
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