By Sonja Corbitt

 

 

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ~ John 8:31b-32

Today’s Gospel passage always sucks the breath out of me for the derisive way the religious leaders stand arrogantly before the Lord of the Universe, their very Maker, and imply that Jesus was “born of fornication.” They blaspheme Jesus to His face. They insult His Mother, and even Joseph, viciously.

We are Wounded

At times we’ve all found ourselves living out the maxim, “wounded people wound people.” What makes us mean to ourselves and others and totally blind to our condition before the Lord? Jesus says we are enslaved because we do not know the truth—about ourselves or Him; we are enslaved to woundedness and the sin that proceeds from it.

What are the wounds that provoke your worst emotional and self-medicating responses? Have you discerned the pattern in those habits? Jesus says, “if you continue in my word…you shall know the truth”: the truth about yourself and your woundedness, your identity in Him, His love for you, and His power to heal you. The tools and the power for your freedom and healing are in His word.

Word and Eucharist

Perhaps this is why the Catechism tells us that the “one table” of the Lord is both the Scriptures and the Eucharist (CCC 103). Healing is your promise: “the truth will make you free…you will be free indeed.” But we need a daily diet of His word to be fully nourished unto complete freedom.

Daily meditations on the readings written by others are good, but they are distilled by someone else and meant to complement your reading and study. What if you approached the daily readings of the Church every day, seeking God’s healing through His word to you, personally? What if you sat with the daily readings every morning in a receiving posture that says, “Lord, what do You want to say to me today?”

Prayer

Lord, as I survey my toxic relationships; repeating, painful circumstances; self-medicating habits; fear, and anxiety, I want to believe in the freedom You promise. I believe; help my unbelief as I trust in Your death and resurrection to free me completely through Your word.

Call to Action

Re-read today’s readings directly, with a receptive heart that says, “Lord, what do You want to say to me today?”  

 

 

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