Patrick Comerford
This week began with the Fourth Sunday in Lent (Lent IV) and Mothering Sunday. Today (1 April), the Church Calendar in the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872), priest, teacher of the faith.
I am back in Stony Stratford after last night’s event in the Comberford Chapel in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, organised by Dr David Biggs and the Tamworth and District Civic Society, when I spoke on the 300th anniversary of a Comberford family memorial erected in 1725. Later this evening, I hope to take part in the choir rehearsals in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
John 5: 17-30 (NRSVA):
17 But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working.’ 18 For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.
19 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21 Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. 22 The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, 23 so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. 24 Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.
25 ‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; 27 and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and will come out – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
30 ‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’
Today’s Reflection:
In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist yesterday (John 5: 1-3, 5-16), we read about the Third Sign in Saint John’s Gospel. Jesus comes to Jerusalem, visits a pool know as Bethesda, where many sick people come to be healed. There he heals a man who cannot walk, and in doing so is accused of violating two laws: working on the Sabbath; and blasphemy by equating himself to God; both said to be punishable by death.
The third discourse in the Fourth Gospel (John 5:17-47) comes in response to that controversy and is essentially Christ’s response to his accusers. Jesus replies to his accusers that he is appropriating nothing to himself, for he only does what he sees his Father doing. He presents his case almost entirely in the third person. I can imagine those who were listening wondering and asking: ‘Who is this Son of God? Is he talking about himself?’ In the dramatic style of Johannine presentation, Jesus keeps them in suspense until the end, when he removes all doubt by switching to the first person (verse 30).
This passage is crucial in understanding the Fourth Gospel. Here, Jesus does not say ‘Yes, I am equal to God.’ Nor does he say, ‘No, I am not equal to God.’ But with accuracy and clarity, he describes the relationship between the Father and the Son, so that in the light of what he reveals, the word ‘equals’ disappears.
Jesus establishes his union with God and states that he can do nothing independently of God. The Son imitates the Father. And Jesus answers the charge of blasphemy by asserting that he is, in fact, the Son of God.
First, Christ argues that, as the Son of God, his actions are only imitating his Father (verse 19). Where he says ‘Very truly,; or ‘Truly, truly’ (ἀμὴν ἀμὴν, amēn amēn), the Hebrew amen is repeated for emphasis (see also verse 24). This phrase appears only in Saint John’s Gospel, yet in this Gospel it appears 25 times.
Christ solemnly tells his listeners that, as a good Son, he does not act independently, but acts as he sees the Father acting. This could be said of all the persons of the Trinity. The Son does not act independently of the Father; however, the Father does not act independently of the Son; neither does the Holy Spirit act independently of the Son or the Father. There is total harmony within the Trinity.
We saw this at Christ’s baptism: And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’ (Matthew 3: 17). Later, at the Transfiguration, we are told, ‘a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”’ (see John 1: 32-34; Matthew 17: 5; see also II Peter 1: 17).
The Greek word translated ‘beloved’ in these places is always a variation on ἀγάπη, agapē (see my additional note on the Four Loves below). However, the love that the Father has for the Son in John 5: 20 is the Greek φιλία, philia, which normally means to consider someone a friend, to have a special interest in someone or something.
In John 3: 35, we read: ‘The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.’ The Greek word there is ἀγαπᾷ (agapa), which means ‘to have a warm regard for and interest in another, cherish, have affection for, love.’
The Father cherishes the Son in a loving relationship of the highest order. Therefore, he has given everything to him. Nonetheless, it is the close association that the Father has with the Son that is the foundation of their co-operative work.
Jesus added that greater works would be forthcoming, works that would amaze. Greater things than the signs that he has already performed are coming, such as his death and resurrection, and even the general resurrection and the final judgment. The Greek word translated ‘astonished’ or ‘marvel’ (θαυμάζητε) means ‘to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something’ (see also verse 28).
The Son is powerless; he cannot do anything out of himself and, as we shall see later, cannot say anything out of himself. He simply looks at the Father, and whatever he sees the Father doing he does himself. But, on the other hand, the Father so loves the Son that he gives everything to him and reserves no power to himself. He does not hold back anything, but reveals to the Son everything that he is doing, and gives him authority to do it.
The Father, who is the source of everything on heaven and on earth, loves and reveals. In him, there is no holding onto power. And, as the Son lets go of everything, he receives back from the Father his power, his authority and the light of his glory. The Father lets go, and receives back from the Son.
Christ explains that the Son imitates God the Father by giving life. God told Moses: ‘See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me; I kill and I make alive’ (Deuteronomy 32: 39). John told us that in Christ ‘was life, and the life was the light of all people’ (John 1: 4). And Christ says: ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live …’ (John 11: 25).
When Jesus speaks of the dead, he uses the word in two senses: at a physical level, those who are dead are corpses buried in graves; at a spiritual level, those who are dead appear to be alive outwardly, but are dead inwardly. But Christ has the power to raise the dead to life.
Similarly, the word judgment has a two-fold meaning: God did not send his son into the κόσμος (kosmos) to judge the κόσμος in the sense of condemning it (John 3: 17), yet judgment inevitably follows from his coming.
The Greek word for judgment, κρίσις (krisis), gives us English words such as crisis, critic, critical, criminal and discriminate. The Son does not condemn anyone, just as the Father does not condemn. But the Father has given him all judgment, in the sense of discrimination, for the coming of the Light in Christ discriminates or distinguishes one thing from another, showing each up for what it really is.
Jesus explains that the Son of God will be the judge at the final judgment. At the final judgment, it will be Christ seated upon the Great White Throne who is the judge (Revelation 20: 11-15). Jesus equates himself directly with God, clearly identifying who he is with the full knowledge that this will infuriate his accusers.
Honouring the Son is honouring the Father. Jesus explains that God the Father’s purpose in ordering things this way was to bring honour to the Son. The word translated ‘honour’ means ‘to show high regard for,’ while the word translated ‘even as’ means ‘just as’ and is used to indicate ‘of extent or degree to which, as, to the degree that.’ God the Father has decreed that the Son is to be revered in the same way and to the same degree as the Father.
Seeing and believing, hearing and believing, are key themes throughout the Fourth Gospel. Jesus implores his accusers to ‘hear’ his truth and that this is the key to salvation.
Jesus claims that judgment and life belong to the Son. Everyone who believes the Son does not come into judgment (verse 24). Then Christ defends his equality with God, claiming that judgment and life are his to give.
The word πιστεύων, translated ‘believes’, means to consider something true and worthy of one’s trust. Faith is not simply about both belief and trust. And so at Baptism, Conformation and at the renewal of baptismal vows, we ask: Do you believe and trust ...?
Verses 26 to 30 appear to be a variant form of the speech that went before in verses 19-25, with the emphasis on the future judgment and life given on the last day (parousia eschatology). Compare this with how Daniel prophesies about the Son of Man (see Daniel 7: 13-14).
Both eschatological views became a part of later Christian theology, for the life of grace we receive on earth is the beginning of the life of beatific vision to be possessed in heaven. The Son is the source of life, and will be the agent of divine judgment in the resurrection. The Son is the source of life in the resurrection.
Christ then announces solemnly that the Son of God will call the dead back to life in the resurrection. The Greek word θαυμάζητε, translated ‘astonished’ or ‘marvel’, means ‘to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something’ (see also verse 20).
Jesus points to the evidence in the scriptures and of John the Baptist and Moses as proof of who he is. He says that if we do not believe this evidence we are not only denying him but also denying God.
A note on the ‘Four Loves’ by CS Lewis
In his book, The Four Loves, CS Lewis explores the nature of love from a Christian perspective dividing love into four categories, based on the four Greek words for love: affection, friendship, eros, and charity.Affection (στοργή, storge) is fondness through familiarity, especially between family members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance.
Friendship (φιλία, philia) is a strong bond existing between people who share a common interest or activity. Lewis explicitly says that his definition of friendship is narrower than mere companionship; friendship in this sense exists only if there is something for the friendship to be ‘about.’
Eros (ἔρως) is love in the sense of ‘being in love.’ But this love is distinct from sexuality, which Lewis calls Venus, although he does spend time discussing sexual activity and its spiritual significance in a pagan or a Christian sense. He identifies eros as indifferent.
Lewis identifies charity (ἀγάπη, agapē) as the love that brings forth caring regardless of circumstance. This he recognises as the greatest of loves, and this he sees as a specifically Christian virtue. His chapter on agape in The Four Loves focuses on the need of subordinating the natural loves to the love of God, who is full of charitable love.
What can we learn from Jesus response to his accusers and how can we apply this in our own spiritual walk?
Christ does not act independently from the other persons in the Trinity; there is total harmony and co-operation within the Trinity. How do we revere and honour the Son in the same manner and to the same degree as the Father?
Christ is the source of eternal life, both now and in the resurrection. How do you relate that to issues such as death and devastation in Myanmar and Thailand following the recent earthquake, or to the continuing wars and conflicts in Russia and Ukraine, or throughout the Middle East today?
How do we distinguish between different feelings of love?
Christ will be the judge at the final judgment. How do we relate that to corporate and social sin?
Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 2 April 2025):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This theme was introduced on Sunday with Reflections by the Revd Rock Higgins, Rector of Saint James the Less Episcopal Church, Ashland, Virginia, and the Triangle of Hope Youth Pilgrimage Lead for the Diocese of Virginia.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 2 April 2025) invites us to pray:
Father God, we ask that you open our hearts so we can hear the Holy Spirit’s prompting for our ministry of reconciliation.
The Collect:
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offences,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
whose blessed Son our Saviour
gave his back to the smiters
and did not hide his face from shame:
give us grace to endure the sufferings of this present time
with sure confidence in the glory that shall be revealed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Merciful Lord,
you know our struggle to serve you:
when sin spoils our lives
and overshadows our hearts,
come to our aid
and turn us back to you again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
