John 8:31-42

Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95

Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

John 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,

“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham

and have never been enslaved to anyone.

How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

A slave does not remain in a household forever,

but a son always remains.

So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.

I know that you are descendants of Abraham.

But you are trying to kill me,

because my word has no room among you.

I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;

then do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children,

you would be doing the works of Abraham.

But now you are trying to kill me,

a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;

Abraham did not do this.

You are doing the works of your father!”

So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.

We have one Father, God.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,

for I came from God and am here;

I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you created me out of love to enjoy your divine life. Help me to see how true freedom is found in your loving will and sharing in your Son’s life. Help me to reject the false freedom offered by the world and the devil.

Encountering the Word of God

1. True Freedom: The discussion between Jesus and the Jews deals with the difference between the slavery of sin and the freedom of children of God. Jesus links knowing the truth and living in the truth with freedom: those who follow him as his disciples will share in his divine sonship and truly be free. John tells us that Jesus is speaking with the Jews who believed in him. The Jews, however, are hesitant to accept Jesus’ teaching and answer back that they consider themselves free, not because they follow him, but because they are descendants of Abraham. Jesus wants to correct this superficial vision of things and bring them to a deeper understanding of divine sonship and its freedom. Freedom, Jesus teaches, does not depend on physical descent from Abraham according to the flesh, but on spiritual descent from Abraham according to faith. Jesus brings this point out by alluding to the story of Abraham's two sons: Ishmael, born of the slave Hagar, and Isaac, born of Sarah his wife. Paul takes up this same theme in the Letter to the Romans and writes that not all are children of Abraham because they are his descendants. The children of God are not the children of the flesh, but rather the children of the promise (Romans 9:6-9).

2. Freedom according to Paul: In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul writes: “Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise” (Galatians 4:22-23). Both Ishmael and Isaac were circumcised, but circumcision (one of the signs of the covenant with Abraham) is no guarantee that one will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham and his descendants. Jesus teaches, then, that to truly be a child of Abraham means doing the works of Abraham – believing God and obeying his divine word (Romans 4:1-3). The promise made to Abraham is given to those who share the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16). Paul will also use the story of Hagar and Sarah to symbolize two covenants (Galatians 3:24-31): Hagar represents the Mosaic covenant of Mount Sinai (and its final form in the Book of Deuteronomy); Sarah represents the Abrahamic covenant and its fulfillment in the New covenant of Jerusalem. Rejecting Jesus means following the way of Ishmael and being cut off from the blessings promised to the descendants of Abraham. Accepting Jesus means following the way of Isaac and sharing in those blessings.

3. The Liberating Action of God: Through his sacrifice on the Cross (prefigured by the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah), Jesus frees us from the curses of the covenant of Deuteronomy. We are justified and made righteous, not by the works of the old law of Deuteronomy, but by faith in Jesus Christ and cooperation with the grace of the Holy Spirit (Compendium CCC, 422). In the Book of Daniel, we see an example of the liberating action of God. Three men – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – refuse to worship the king's statue and instead entrust themselves to the protection of the one, true God. They are condemned to death for their disobedience and cast into the white-hot furnace. The flames, however, do not touch them and they are protected by one who looks like a son of God. In this way, God frees them and delivers them from death. We learn from this that there is no opposition between serving God and being free. The more we act in accord with God’s law and will, the freer we become. “There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to the slavery of sin” (CCC, 1733). As children of God, we are moved to act righteously not by slavish fear, but by the Holy Spirit in freedom and out of filial love. Freedom is not an indifferent ability to choose between doing evil or doing good. True freedom is a share in God’s freedom and is always ordered to the good and true and beautiful. The nearer we approach God through moral progress, the less we are inclined to sin and abuse our freedom. Knowledge of God (knowing the truth) and love for God (living according to the truth) make us truly free. On our own, we are powerless to break free from the devil and the bondage of sin. Christ alone can liberate us and make us children of the Father. This is a great mystery we contemplate as we approach Holy Week.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you reveal the truth that sets me free. I want to embrace that truth and freedom with all my heart. You are able to liberate me and make me flourish as a child of God. Set my eyes on how wonderful life is when I live according to God’s will.

Living the Word of God: Do I see freedom as the ability to choose between good and evil or as the power to do good? Do I see sin as an abuse of freedom and good deeds as the perfection of freedom? How can I exercise my freedom and grow in true freedom as a child of God today?