Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 247
Lectionary: 247
The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
‘With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth’?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
‘This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
The LORD said to Moses,
“I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation.”
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
“Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
‘With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth’?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’“
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
Responsorial Psalm PS 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Gospel JN 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews:
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
Meditation: The
Father's witness to Jesus
Do you know the joy of the gospel - the good
news of Jesus Christ - and a life freely submitted to the wisdom and
knowledge of God? Jesus' opponents refused to accept his authority to speak and
act in the name of God. And they refused to believe that he was sent from the
Father in heaven. They demanded evidence for his claim to be equal with God.
Jesus answers their charges with the supporting evidence of witnesses. The law
of Moses had laid down the principle that the unsupported evidence of one
person shall not prevail against a man for any crime or wrong in connection
with any offence he committed (see Deuteronomy 17:6). At least two or three
witnesses were needed.
Witnesses to Jesus' true identity
Jesus begins his defense by citing John the Baptist as a witness, since John publicly pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and had repeatedly borne witness to him (see John 1:19, 20, 26, 29, 35, 36). Jesus also asserts that a greater witness to his identity and equality with God the Father are the signs and miracles he performed. He cites his works, not to point to himself but to point to the power of God the Father working in and through him. He cites God the Father as his supreme witness.
Jesus begins his defense by citing John the Baptist as a witness, since John publicly pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and had repeatedly borne witness to him (see John 1:19, 20, 26, 29, 35, 36). Jesus also asserts that a greater witness to his identity and equality with God the Father are the signs and miracles he performed. He cites his works, not to point to himself but to point to the power of God the Father working in and through him. He cites God the Father as his supreme witness.
Jesus asserts that the Scriptures themselves,
including the first five books of Moses, point to him as the Messiah, the
promised Savior. The problem with the scribes and Pharisees was that they did
not believe what Moses had written. They desired the praise of their fellow
humans and since they were so focused on themselves, they became blindsighted
to God. They were so preoccupied with their own position as authorities and
interpreters of the law that they became hardened and unable to understand the
word of God. Their pride made them deaf to God's voice.
God reveals himself to the lowly of heart
Scripture tells us that God reveals himself to the lowly, to those who trust not in themselves, but who place their faith in God. The lowly of heart listen to God's word with an eagerness to learn and to obey. The Lord Jesus reveals to us the very mind and heart of God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he opens our ears so that we may hear his voice and he fills our hearts and minds with the love and knowledge of God. Do you believe that God's word has power to set you free from sin and ignorance and to transform you to be like him?
Scripture tells us that God reveals himself to the lowly, to those who trust not in themselves, but who place their faith in God. The lowly of heart listen to God's word with an eagerness to learn and to obey. The Lord Jesus reveals to us the very mind and heart of God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he opens our ears so that we may hear his voice and he fills our hearts and minds with the love and knowledge of God. Do you believe that God's word has power to set you free from sin and ignorance and to transform you to be like him?
Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote:
"As Christians, our
task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school
in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play
truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from
commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These
things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study."
Are you an
eager student of God's word and do you listen to it with faith and obedience?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit
that I may listen to your word attentively and obey it joyfully."
 God’s Testimony |
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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
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John 5:31-47
Jesus said to the Jews: "If I testify on my own behalf,
my testimony cannot be verified. But there is another who testifies on my
behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent
emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept testimony
from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning
and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John´s. The works that the Father gave me
to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the
Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my
behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not
have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he
has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life
through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to
me to have life. I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do
not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do
not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How
can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the
praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you
before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have
placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will
you believe my words?"
Introductory Prayer: Jesus,
the gift of faith permits me to soar higher. I believe in you! I lend myself
to this intricate duty of faith, and with a hopeful trust, I leap toward your
infinite love. I love you, Lord. I have come to spend this time with you just
because I want to be with you.
Petition: Lord,
help me to live with purity of intention.
1. Seeking Human Praise: Jesus
said, “I do not accept human praise.” Why? His Father deserves all the credit
for anything that exists because, after all, he created everything. Knowing
and accepting this is indeed a quick path to holiness. Jesus is God, but he
leaves us a splendid example of how man should search for God’s glory and not
his own. When we look for our own “fan club,” we are really stripping God of
the glory that he alone deserves. When we seek praise from men and work hard
to be accepted by them, we are standing before a guillotine that severs a
head from its body. However, by purifying our intentions and glorifying God
alone through all our actions and thoughts, eternal life is merited for us
and for many souls.
2. The Proper Motives for Our Deeds: Self-seeking
doesn’t work. True, selfless love does. There are some advantages to living a
life that seeks only God’s glory. The benefit achieved is order. We learn to
maintain the proper hierarchy in our values and to keep things in their
place. When parents need to punish a wayward child, their question is: “Are
we punishing him because he has done something wrong and needs to be taught a
lesson?” Or do they allow their anger to get the best of them, and the
punishment then becomes a release valve for their fury? Likewise, in our use
of the material goods we have at our disposal, do we use them out of pure
love of God or only for our comfort?
3. True Peace of Heart: When
children do something wrong, they usually act nervously when their wrongdoing
is uncovered. However, when they are mistakenly blamed, they show a
convincing innocence, and the accuser retracts in time to avoid harm. The
same could be said about purity of intention. If a soul labors only for God’s
glory, then a certain guarantee of fulfillment necessarily accompanies his
destiny. No matter how many obstacles and misunderstandings might besiege
him, the soul who follows God’s will enjoys peace.
Conversation with Christ: Lord
Jesus, you teach me in the Gospel to add a supernatural dimension to all my
enterprises and efforts. This mortal existence on earth is a mere drop in the
ocean compared to eternity that will quickly engulf me. Help me to do all for
your greater glory.
Resolution: In my
conversations today, I will not brag about myself. I will try to focus
the conversation on the interests of others.
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THURSDAY, APRIL 3, JOHN 5:31-47
Lenten Weekday
(Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 106)
KEY VERSE: "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified" (v 31).
READING: Jewish law prohibited persons from testifying on their own behalf. Two or three witnesses were needed to give evidence regarding any offense that may have been committed (Dt 19:15). However, Jesus presented four valid witnesses for the truth of his words. First, John the Baptist was a "lamp" who gave witness to the "light" that Jesus came to reveal (Jn 1:7). Second, the works that Jesus accomplished testified that God had sent him. Third, God's Word gave witness to Jesus. Nevertheless, people searched the scriptures to find life, and refused to come to Jesus who was God's life-giving word (Jn 1:1). Finally, God the Father gave the conclusive testimony. No one had ever seen the invisible God, nor heard God's voice, yet God was fully revealed in Jesus Christ, God's Son.
READING: Do I give testimony to Jesus by what I say and do?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to recognize you in your word and works all around me.
Lenten Weekday
(Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 106)
KEY VERSE: "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified" (v 31).
READING: Jewish law prohibited persons from testifying on their own behalf. Two or three witnesses were needed to give evidence regarding any offense that may have been committed (Dt 19:15). However, Jesus presented four valid witnesses for the truth of his words. First, John the Baptist was a "lamp" who gave witness to the "light" that Jesus came to reveal (Jn 1:7). Second, the works that Jesus accomplished testified that God had sent him. Third, God's Word gave witness to Jesus. Nevertheless, people searched the scriptures to find life, and refused to come to Jesus who was God's life-giving word (Jn 1:1). Finally, God the Father gave the conclusive testimony. No one had ever seen the invisible God, nor heard God's voice, yet God was fully revealed in Jesus Christ, God's Son.
READING: Do I give testimony to Jesus by what I say and do?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to recognize you in your word and works all around me.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Forgive Me, Lord
Jesus, our crucified Lord, you know us better than we know
ourselves. Help us to see the ways in which we not only act out in selfishness,
greed, or shortsightedness, but also in those ways we choose to ignore, forget,
and step over aspects of our lives and others for which we need forgiveness.
Lord, remember us for the love you bear your people
‘I have a testimony greater than John’s.’
The image of God burning with wrath against the Israelites runs
counter to the modern emphasis on God’s love. While a very human emotion, the
anger of God is an expression of jealous love. In worshipping false gods the
Israelites reject the love that guided them out of Egypt. In the gospel, Jesus
laments the failure of people to recognise the testimony of the scriptures and
John the Baptist. Again false gods of worldly glory and pride blind people to
the truth about Jesus’ identity and mission. We all have our false gods and
idols. Some may be bigger and harder to dismantle than others, but all draw our
attention away from the truth of our relationship with God. Lent provides us
with the opportunity to invite God to help us recognise these idols for what
they are and remember the love God bears for his people.
April
3
St. Benedict the African
(1526-1589)
St. Benedict the African
(1526-1589)
Benedict held important posts in the Franciscan Order and
gracefully adjusted to other work when his terms of office were up.
His
parents were slaves brought from Africa to Messina, Sicily. Freed at 18,
Benedict did farm work for a wage and soon saved enough to buy a pair of oxen.
He was very proud of those animals. In time he joined a group of hermits around
Palermo and was eventually recognized as their leader. Because these hermits
followed the Rule of St. Francis, Pope Pius IV ordered them to join the First
Order.
Benedict
was eventually novice master and then guardian of the friars in Palermo—
positions rarely held in those days by a brother. In fact, Benedict was forced
to accept his election as guardian. And when his term ended he happily returned
to his work in the friary kitchen.
Benedict
corrected the friars with humility and charity. Once he corrected a novice and
assigned him a penance only to learn that the novice was not the guilty party.
Benedict immediately knelt down before the novice and asked his pardon.
In later
life Benedict was not possessive of the few things he used. He never referred
to them as "mine" but always called them "ours." His gifts
for prayer and the guidance of souls earned him throughout Sicily a reputation
for holiness. Following the example of St. Francis, Benedict kept seven 40-day
fasts throughout the year; he also slept only a few hours each night.
After
Benedict’s death, King Philip III of Spain paid for a special tomb for this holy
friar. Canonized in 1807, he is honored as a patron saint by African-Americans.
Comment:
Among Franciscans a position of leadership is limited in time. When the time expires, former leaders sometimes have trouble adjusting to their new position. The Church needs men and women ready to put their best energies into leadership—but also men and women who are gracefully willing to go on to other work when their time of leadership is over.
Among Franciscans a position of leadership is limited in time. When the time expires, former leaders sometimes have trouble adjusting to their new position. The Church needs men and women ready to put their best energies into leadership—but also men and women who are gracefully willing to go on to other work when their time of leadership is over.
Quote:
"I did not come to be served but to serve (see Matthew 20:28), says the Lord. Those who are placed over others should glory in such an office only as much as they would were they assigned the task of washing the feet of the brothers. And the more they are upset about their office being taken from them than they would be over the loss of the office of [washing] feet, so much the more do they store up treasures to the peril of their souls (see John 12:6)" (Francis of Assisi,Admonition IV).
"I did not come to be served but to serve (see Matthew 20:28), says the Lord. Those who are placed over others should glory in such an office only as much as they would were they assigned the task of washing the feet of the brothers. And the more they are upset about their office being taken from them than they would be over the loss of the office of [washing] feet, so much the more do they store up treasures to the peril of their souls (see John 12:6)" (Francis of Assisi,Admonition IV).
Patron Saint of:
African-Americans
African-Americans
LECTIO DIVINA:
JOHN 5,31-47
Lectio:
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Lent Time
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord our God, we know,
perhaps more in theory than in practice,
that you are with us,
that you are our God and we your people.Forgive us, Lord, when we fashion
our own gods made in our own image -
honour, power, prestige,
things to which we are attached and enslaved.
Remind us again and again
that you are our loyal God,
who made us in your own indelible image
and who shows us your perfect likeness
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
perhaps more in theory than in practice,
that you are with us,
that you are our God and we your people.Forgive us, Lord, when we fashion
our own gods made in our own image -
honour, power, prestige,
things to which we are attached and enslaved.
Remind us again and again
that you are our loyal God,
who made us in your own indelible image
and who shows us your perfect likeness
in Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
2)
GOSPEL READING - JOHN 5, 31-47
Jesus said to the Jews: "Were I to testify on my own
behalf, my testimony would not be true; but there is another witness who speaks
on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is true.
You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the
truth- not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that
I mention it. John was a lamp lit and shining and for a time you were content
to enjoy the light that he gave.
But my testimony is greater than John's: the deeds my Father has
given me to perform, these same deeds of mine testify that the Father has sent
me. Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself. You have never
heard his voice, you have never seen his shape, and his word finds no home in
you because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You pore over the scriptures, believing that in them you can
find eternal life; it is these scriptures that testify to me, and yet you
refuse to come to me to receive life! Human glory means nothing to me. Besides,
I know you too well: you have no love of God in you. I have come in the name of
my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else should come in his own
name you would accept him. How can you believe, since you look to each other
for glory and are not concerned with the glory that comes from the one God?
Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father:
you have placed your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be the one who accuses you.
If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was about me that
he was writing; but if you will not believe what he wrote, how can you believe
what I say?
3)
REFLECTION
• John, interpreter of Jesus. John is a good interpreter of the
words of Jesus. A good interpreter has to have a two-fold fidelity. Fidelity to
the words of the one who speaks, and fidelity to the language of the one who
listens. In John’s Gospel, the words of Jesus are not transmitted materially,
literally; rather they are translated and transferred to the language of the
people of the Christian communities of the first century in Asia Minor. For
this reason, the reflections of the Gospel of John are not always easy to
understand. Because in them are mixed the words of God and the words of the
Evangelist himself who mirrors the language of faith of the communities of Asia
Minor. The scholarly or scientific study of Jesus is not sufficient for this.
It is also necessary that we have the lived experience of faith in the
community. Today’s Gospel is a typical example of the spiritual and mystical
depth of the Gospel of the Beloved Disciple.
• Reciprocal enlightenment between life and faith. Here it is
well to repeat what John Cassian says regarding the discovery of the full and
profound sense of the Psalms: “Instructed by that which we ourselves feel, let
us not consider the text as something which we have only heard, but rather like
something which we have experienced and which we touch with our hands; not like
a strange and unheard of story, but rather like something that we bring out to
light from the deepest part of our heart, as if these were sentiments which
form part of our being. Let us repeat them; it is not the reading (the study)
what makes us penetrate into the sense or meaning of the words, but rather our
own experience which has previously been acquired in the life of every day”.
(Collationes X, 11). Life enlightens the text, the text enlightens life. If, at
times, the text says nothing, it is not because of lack of study or because of
lack of prayer, but simply because of lack of depth in one’s own life.
• John 31-32: The value of the witness of Jesus. The witness of
Jesus is true because he does not promote or exalt himself. “There is another
witness who speaks on my behalf”, that is the Father. And his witness is true
and deserves to be believed.
• John 5, 33-36: The value of the witness of John the Baptist
and of the works of Jesus. John the Baptist also gave witness of Jesus and
presents him to the people as the one sent by God who has to come to this world
(cf. Jn 1, 29.33-34; 3, 28-34). For this reason, even if the witness of John
the Baptist is very important, Jesus does not depend on him. He has a witness
in his favour who is greater than the witness of John, and that is, the works
which the Father carries out through him (Jn 14, 10-11).
• John 5, 37-38: The Father bears witness of Jesus. Previously,
Jesus had said: “Whoever is from God listens to the words of God” (Jn 8, 47).
The Jews who accused Jesus did not have a mind open to God. And for this
reason, they do not succeed to perceive the witness of the Father which reaches
them through Jesus.
• John 5, 39-41: Scripture itself gives testimony of Jesus. The
Jews say that they have faith in the Scriptures, but in reality, they do not
understand Scripture, because the Scripture speaks of Jesus (cf. Jn 5, 46; 12,
16.41; 20, 9).
• John 5, 42-47: The Father does not judge but entrusts his
judgment to the Son. The Jews say that they are faithful to the Scripture of
Moses and, because of this, they condemn Jesus. In reality, Moses and the
Scripture speak about Jesus and ask to believe in him.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Life enlightens the text and the text enlightens life. Have
you experienced this some times?
• Try to deepen the value of the testimony of Jesus.
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Yahweh, your kingship is a kingship for ever,
your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is trustworthy in all his words,
and upright in all his deeds.
Yahweh supports all who stumble,
lifts up those who are bowed down. (Ps 145,13-14)
your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is trustworthy in all his words,
and upright in all his deeds.
Yahweh supports all who stumble,
lifts up those who are bowed down. (Ps 145,13-14)
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