Friday, Fifth Week of Lent: Daughters and Sons of God

“But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion” - Jeremiah 20:11

“The Father is in me and I am in the Father.” - John 10: 38

The Prophet Jeremiah and Jesus could not have brought better news than they do in today’s readings. Jeremiah speaks words that could probably inspire me through hell on earth. Jesus speaks words that show, when I really reflect on them, he really wants each of us to be able to say about ourselves: God lives in me. I have a feeling, though, that most of the time very few of us let these words take root. I sure don’t.

Most of us have heard things like, “Don’t worry, God is with you” many times, right? I almost hear it so much that I am numb to it. They just become words with no real power. Maybe we use them just to say something when we think someone needs kind words. Or maybe they come up when we really have nothing else to say. Whatever the case, I have a deep feeling that this whole Jesus story is more than those words could ever communicate.

“I am the Son of God,” Jesus says. But have you ever said that about yourself? Have you ever admitted that you are the Son or Daughter of God? We like to take “the” out of there to avoid sounding crazy, right? But here’s the thing about today’s gospel: we don’t need to take “the” out of that statement when speaking about ourselves. And we also don’t need to take “the” out of it when we speak about others. The most beautiful news about the Incarnation is that it very clearly shows us that when the Father gazes upon us in our humanity, the Father gazes upon His Son. When God looks at us, it is as if God is looking in a mirror. That is the salvation. That is what frees us. The cross we are about to celebrate is the lasting sign of that. We don’t need to try to impress anyone, and we especially don’t need to try to impress God. We are already participants in the Trinity.

Tony Cortese