{"id":843,"date":"2016-03-10T16:44:27","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T21:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=843"},"modified":"2016-04-04T19:35:20","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T00:35:20","slug":"how-our-works-testify-on-our-behalf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=843","title":{"rendered":"How Our Works Testify on Our Behalf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday of the 5th<\/sup> Week of Lent<\/h3>\n

Exc 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47<\/h3>\n

Dc. Larry Brockman<\/h3>\n

\u201cIf I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true\u201d.\u00a0 Those are pretty strong words for the Son of God.\u00a0 And if they apply to him then how much more so do they apply to others.<\/p>\n

And yet, the world is full of people who testify on their own behalf in order to get ahead.\u00a0 That seems to be the rule for politicians, especially in this election cycle. Why do you suppose that Jesus said what he did?\u00a0 What is it about testifying in our own behalf that is so flawed?<\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s like this.\u00a0 Our talents, wealth, health, and accomplishments, are all gifts from God.\u00a0 To the extent that we exist and can do anything, it is all dependent on God.\u00a0 We cannot take a breath, utter a word, conceive of a thought, or perform any deed, good or bad without the cooperation and consent of God.\u00a0 God is the giver of all life and wills that we possess life and our other gifts.<\/p>\n

But here is the catch.\u00a0 He also gives us free will. \u00a0\u00a0And that leads to a choice about how we manifest the grace and animation that result from God willing our lives.\u00a0 It\u2019s all up to us how and whether we use the gifts we have been given wisely.<\/p>\n

Notice that the works that Jesus did testified on His behalf.\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what he said, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 Jesus doesn\u2019t have to testify on his behalf because his actions speak louder than words.\u00a0 And if those actions are in harmony with God\u2019s plan, as Jesus actions were, they lead to God\u2019s ultimate goal- everlasting life with him in His Kingdom.<\/p>\n

So also, the works that we do testify on our behalf.\u00a0 They are out there for all to see.\u00a0 Indeed, our works testify on our behalf better than anything we can say about them.\u00a0 They testify to the truth about who we really are.\u00a0 We can have and exhibit tremendous \u201cfaith\u201d; but if doesn\u2019t manifest itself by what our works testify then it comes to nothing.<\/p>\n

Now Jesus moves on to talk about praise.\u00a0 First, he criticizes those who accept human praise, but do not seek the praise of God.\u00a0 These are identified as people who praise the testimony of those who testify on their own behalf!\u00a0 You see, if people pat each other on the back about how great they are, without recognizing God as the real author of their accomplishments and without seeking His approval, then they are bound to be led astray by their own pride and the devil.<\/p>\n

Look at what happened in our first reading.\u00a0 Moses goes up on the mountain to consult the Lord on what is next after the Israelis are delivered from the Egyptians.\u00a0 But Moses is the bridge between God and the people.\u00a0 Without Moses, the people are left to their own devices.\u00a0 And so while he is away, the Israelis drift away from recognizing who it was that was the driving force behind their deliverance.\u00a0 They are like the mob of sports fans who meet the triumphant team after the championship.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if they feel that they, not the team, won the championship.\u00a0 So, the Israelis constructed their own god to represent their collective power.\u00a0 It was a product of their own pride, of their own making.\u00a0 But it was a false power and a false god.\u00a0 They had conveniently forgotten the truth.<\/p>\n

Indeed, if you testify on your own behalf, you are bound to get it wrong. \u00a0So, during this special time of Lenten reflection, consider your own life.\u00a0 How do your works testify on your behalf?\u00a0 Because that is who you really are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent Exc 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47 Dc. Larry Brockman \u201cIf I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true\u201d.\u00a0 Those are pretty strong words for the Son of God.\u00a0 And if they apply to him then how much more so do they apply to others. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[400,401],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":844,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843\/revisions\/844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}