Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28 / John
8:31-42
Jesus talks about his teaching
“Keep my word and you will know the
truth.”
It has been said that some truths
can be verified as being truthful only by living them out. Jesus has something
like this in mind when he says in today’s reading: “If you live according to my
teaching ... then you will know the truth.” In other words, the truth of what
Jesus says will be discovered in the process of living it out. For example, by
forgiving your enemy, you discover this is the right thing to do. By praying
for those who wrong you, you discover this is the right thing to do.
By not passing judgment on your
neighbor, you discover this is the right thing to do.
****
Do our doubts about the teaching of
Jesus arise from our failure to live out his teaching? “If you wish to be
convinced of eternal truths, do not augment your arguments, but weed out your
passions.” Blaise Pascal
****
The fiery furnace of tribulation is
something we will come across in our lives. Not just once, but many times. It is in this fiery
furnace that our faith in God is tested, our faith in prayer is tested, our
faith in others is tested, and our faith in ourselves is tested.
The fiery
furnace comes in all forms: the loss of a job, the hurt form a broken or
painful relationship, ill-treatment and accusations from others, etc.
And we
often get trapped in the flames of doubt, despair, anger and resentment.
In the
1st reading, when the three young men were threatened with the fiery furnace,
they stuck to their faith in God.
In doing
so, they were freed from their fear of death.
They
believed in God, and that set them free to face and overcome the fear of the
fiery furnace.
It is
also by believing in God and in His Word of truth that will set us free.
By
forgiving those who hurt us, we are freed.
By
praying for those who wrong us, we are freed.
By not
nailing judgment on others, we are freed.
By loving
others, we are freed.
The flames of the fiery furnace may not go off, but by believing and
living in the truth, we live in the freedom of walking together with our God in
that fiery furnace. (SY)
