Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Jn 8: 21-30
March 28, 2023 | Tuesday
Again, Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and though you look for me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” The Jews wondered, “Why does he say that we can’t come where he is going? Will he kill himself?” But Jesus said, “You are from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He.”
They asked him, “Who are you?”; and Jesus said, “Just what I have told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One who sent me is truthful and everything I learned from him, I proclaim to the world.”
They didn’t understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself, but I say just what the Father taught me. He who sent me is with me and has not left me alone; because I always do what pleases him.”
As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in him.
Today’s Reflection:
Today’s readings remind us how Jesus Christ hanging on the cross saves. The gospel mentions, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He…”, while in the first reading, Jesus confides to His disciples, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Both readings remind us how we must fix our gaze on Jesus as He is lifted high on the Cross, for there is salvation. As we gaze upon the image of Jesus on the cross, we see love offered and “his blood poured forth for souls”. Jesus lifted up on the Cross has revealed to us the Tree of Life and Nourishment where the Sacraments flow. Jesus’ Passion shows His act of great love for all of us. It was our infirmities that He bore, and our sufferings that He endured. He was pierced for our offenses and crushed for our sins; upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole; by His stripes, we were healed. /Vulnerasti, 2023
