DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Friday, September 14, 2018

“Then Jesus said, I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of the One who sent me.“ – John 5:30

Even Christ paradoxically says … “I can do nothing on my own.” And I believe He is teaching about this new Christian Way … a Way of life that He Himself is the pioneer, this coming together of the Divine and the human in a synergy that transforms both individuals and the world they live in.  As Christians we are the interplay of the Divine and the human as we seek to live our His ways and seek to go about His work.  It is not merely a venture in human effort but a venture in powers both human and Divine.  Christianity is a partnership with God, yet even more than that … it is a blending of soul with Soul.

Christ declares that His judgment is just.  His ability and power to judge justly is because He rises beyond His human limits so that He might judge with a Divine clarity and a Divine mercy.   His judgement is just because His quality of Spirit is filled with all graces Divine.  This is why so many of us judge unfairly; we rely far too much on human passions and too little on Divine wisdom.

Through the Gospels, Christ uses His own life as a model for the Christian life, His Life now lived in those who follow in His footsteps and in His manner.  It is as if Christ were saying to us … “My judgment is just because I do not seek to do my will but the will of the One who sent me; and your judgement will be just if you do not seek to do your own wishes and ways but instead the wishes and ways of the One who sent you.”

We will never be one and the same with God, but we can be transformed into what it means to be human and Divinely graced.

Always in Christ’s Service,

Fr. Charitas de la Cruz