Authority.

There was an intense exchange between the boys. They were arguing about something. One says and thinks it should be this way; the other wants it his way. And the third summed up his argument, his opinion, in these words. The boys reflected and put on the terms of the boy who did not say how he imagines wishes but how he saw his father doing it. The authority, the experience, perhaps the love of this father for his son prevailed.

Jesus says to the Jews, and us today, in solemn words, full of authority and love, “Truly, truly, I say to you: The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does likewise.” (Jn 5:19).

In this Gospel, Jesus explains to the Jews his relationship with God the Father. He emphasizes that God did not cease to be active even after the work of creation, as the Jews thought, but is constantly sustaining and administering the world. The Son is equal to Him in nature, power, right, and majesty. This relation is explained in theology by the doctrine of God in three persons in dogmatic – De Deo trino.
John in the Gospel gives us a severe thought about this: God has entrusted all that he possesses to his Son, namely: power, life, and judgment.
We see from the Gospel that Jesus does not make claims for people to believe in him; he does not base them on human authority but the power of God. The Jews believed that God continued to sustain the world; he continued to work even on the Sabbath, which they interpreted rather strangely, that children were born even on the Sabbath, a day on which the Jews did not work.
Jesus also heals on the Sabbath, which offended the Jews. What God can do: raising the dead, judging the works of men, this He also gave to Jesus, His Son. From this, Jesus infers for them that whoever therefore does not honor him does not honor God the Father either, but whoever believes his words obtains eternal life.

You may ask: Why is this so? Why can the Lord Jesus do what His Father does? He explains this by saying that He also does whatever His loving Father shows Him. Here is a simile that Jesus did not use but that the hearers inferred because it was widespread and familiar. The simile is about how a craftsman’s father initiates his son, his successor, into his art.

He who sees the Lord Jesus sees God. He who can listen to him listens to the Father, but also, he who does not listen to him rejects the Father. Without him, there is no life with us, no salvation, no way to God. And yet we accept the words of the Lord Jesus, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). That is why we look to Jesus as a landmark not only of the ages but of humanity. This means to us that indifference to Christ does not exist. Each one of us must decide either to accept or reject Jesus.
We want to accept him decisively. That is why Jesus is close to us; we see in him our Judge, who at the hour of our death will be the landmark of blessedness or damnation. He earned this rank by his love for God the Father and us, his brothers and sisters when he came among us out of love to redeem and save us.
We believe that Jesus is “the truth.” We believe that the judgment upon us will be what we deserve and that it will also be, for he will not punish for himself but for the Father whom he has reconciled. Therefore, we endeavor to live life fully and respect his authority. Those who do not respect authority on earth offend and deserve punishment. He who does not respect authority for eternal life despises the love of Christ and therefore prepares for eternal damnation. Even as we prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are to remember that this may be the last opportunity we have to forgive God for our sins. The thought of encountering Jesus as a Judge will lead us to a responsible approach to eternal values.

Therefore, in asking our conscience, or in various discussions about the fulfillment of the Decalogue and other commands, let us not say and persuade, what is my opinion, how do I like it, how does it suit me, but let us look to Jesus who tells us. As the boy in today’s opening reflection did, we will say, My father does it this way. And let us say: My Jesus requires it of me like this.