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Morning Devotion for the Season of Easter

May 3, 2023

The Invitatory

Alleluia! Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: John 12:44-50

Then Jesus cried aloud: ‘Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.’

Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones

“Seeing is believing.” We used to say that when something unlikely is witnessed, and the truth of its occurrence or existence can no longer be doubted. I didn't think it could happen, but seeing is believing. If you see something yourself, you will believe it to exist or be true, despite the fact that it is unlikely: I never thought he'd shave off his beard, but seeing is believing! Is it true that seeing is believing? Not necessarily. Visual illusions can distort our perception so that what we “see” does not correspond with what is physically there. Our sensory illusions may time and time again fool the brain.

The world in which we live will likely test our deepest beliefs. A word of caution might be in order insofar as it addresses some aspects of life: be believing in order to see “things as they really are.” Are these words of advice necessarily applicable when addressed to one’s faith?

Interestingly, this brief passage summarizes a good deal of Jesus’ message to his disciples in revealing who he is to them. He now discloses to them that in seeing him that actually see “him who sent him.” And this seeing necessarily results in belief. So there is a sort of spiritual or faithful chain reaction – believing in, seeing and receiving. They are all of a piece, one might even sense that there is something of an organic quality to faith. One can almost perceive the quiet progression of faith within one’s person. It seems to transpire of its own, without any human act other than acknowledgment. Yet, we know this is not the case, for, as is recognized, there are those who hear and do not keep Jesus’ words. The consequences for this are gracious and unexpected. Jesus’ obedience to God in speaking the commandment God gives him is to proclaim eternal life. This is a most serious undertaking for Jesus. He proclaims this without any qualification. Jesus’ will and God’s will are one and the same.

There is a highly significant implication for humankind for what is made clear is that there is eternal life for humankind, because what Jesus has pursued throughout his ministry in words and deeds has been to demonstrate that his preaching and actions have been directed entirely to what is the source of eternal life.

And now we are poised on the break with the Old Testament tradition with respect to the commandment, that is, the commandment of God given through Moses that served as a principle of life for the people. Now it has become clear that God’s commandment is far more than that of the Old Testament tradition. It is the word of God spoken through Jesus Christ that expresses itself in a new form. What now follows from the commandment is eternal life. This is what we celebrate in this season of Easter.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.