Tuesday of the Fifth
Week of Lent
Lectionary: 252
Lectionary: 252
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
to bypass the land of Edom.
But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R. (2) O Lord,
hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,
and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from me
in the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Verse Before
The Gospel
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
all who come to him will live for ever.
GospelJN 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said,
"He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?"
Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world."
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
"When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him."
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
"I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said,
"He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?"
Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world."
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
"When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him."
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
Meditation: "When
you have lifted up the Son of man"
Do you know the healing power of the cross of Jesus
Christ? When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the
wilderness because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery
serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it,
shall live" (Numbers 21:8). The visible sign of the "fiery bronze
serpent" being lifted up in the sight of the people reminded them of two
important facts - sin leads to death and repentance leads to God's mercy and
healing. The lifting up of the bronze serpent on a wooden pole points to Jesus
Christ being lifted up on the wooden cross at Calvary where he took our sins
upon himself to make atonement to the Father on our behalf. The cross of Christ
broke the curse of sin and death and won pardon, healing, and everlasting life
for all who believe in Jesus, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Either for him or against him
While many believed in Jesus and his message, many others, including the religious leaders, opposed him. Some openly mocked him when he warned them about their sin of unbelief. It's impossible to be indifferent to Jesus' word and his judgments. We are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground and no neutral parties.
While many believed in Jesus and his message, many others, including the religious leaders, opposed him. Some openly mocked him when he warned them about their sin of unbelief. It's impossible to be indifferent to Jesus' word and his judgments. We are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground and no neutral parties.
When Jesus spoke about "going away" he was
referring to his return in glory to his Father in heaven. Jesus warned his
opponents that if they continued to disobey God's word and to reject him as
Lord and Savior, they would shut themselves off from God and die
in their sins. Jesus' words echoed the prophetic warning given to Ezekiel
that people would die in their sins if they did not turn to God and ask for his
mercy and pardon (see Ezekiel 3:18 and 18:18). In every age God warns his
people to heed his word before the time is too late to seek his mercy and
forgiveness. God gives us time to turn to him and to receive his mercy and
pardon, but that time is right now.
To sin literally means to miss the mark or to
be off target. The essence of sin is that it diverts us from God and from
our true purpose in life - to know the source of all truth and beauty which is
God himself and to be united with God in everlasting joy. When Adam and Eve
yielded to their sin of disobedience, they literally tried to hide themselves
from God's presence (Genesis 3:8-10). That is what sin does - it separates us
from the One who is not only "all-seeing" and "ever
present" to us, but who is also "all loving" and
"merciful" and eager to receive us with open arms of mercy, healing,
and forgiveness. When God calls you to turn your gaze and attention towards
him, do you try to hide yourself from his presence with other distractions and
excuses that keep you from seeking him and listening to his voice?
The proof of God's love for us
Jesus went on to explain to people that if they could not recognize his voice when they heard his word, they would have the opportunity to recognize him when he is "lifted up" on the cross. Jesus pointed to the atoning sacrifice of his life on the cross as the true source of healing and victory over sin and reconciliation with God. The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross is the ultimate proof of God's love for us.
Jesus went on to explain to people that if they could not recognize his voice when they heard his word, they would have the opportunity to recognize him when he is "lifted up" on the cross. Jesus pointed to the atoning sacrifice of his life on the cross as the true source of healing and victory over sin and reconciliation with God. The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross is the ultimate proof of God's love for us.
God so loved the world that he gave us his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
To fail to recognize who
Jesus is and where he came from is to remain in darkness - the darkness of sin,
ignorance, and unbelief. But if we look to Jesus and listen to his word of life
and truth, then we will find the way to lasting peace and joy with God. The
Lord Jesus invites each one of us to accept him as the Way, the Truth, and the
Life. Our time here in this present world is very limited and short, but how we
live it today has consequences not only for the present moment but for our
eternal destiny as well. Which direction is your life headed in right now?
"Lord Jesus, you came to set us free from sin,
doubt, fear, and ignorance. Your word brings life, truth, and healing to mind,
heart, soul, and body. Let your healing love free me from the blindness of sin
and disbelief and from the destructive force of evil and wrongdoing. May I
always find peace, joy, and strength in knowing your merciful love, truth, and
goddness."
A Daily Quote for Lent: Aided by Christ's grace, by Augustine of
Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God the Father said: 'I sent you One who would
seek you out, walk with you, and forgive you. So he had feet to walk with and
hands to forgive with. Thus, when he ascended after his resurrection, he showed
hands, side, and feet: hands with which he gave pardon to sinners; and side
from which flowed the ransom of the redeemed.'" (excerpt from Sermon 16A,10)
TUESDAY,
MARCH 20, JOHN 8:21-30
Lenten Weekday
(Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 102)
Lenten Weekday
(Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 102)
KEY VERSE: "When you lift up the Son of Man, you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own" (v.28).
TO KNOW: Jesus uttered a warning against those who persisted in their unbelief, refusing to accept him as God's Anointed One. Only those who believed in him could go with him to the Father; those who opposed him would die in their sins. The unbelievers sarcastically asked Jesus if he intended to kill himself. The irony was that Jesus would freely lay down his life on the cross. He compared his being "lifted up" on the cross to the bronze serpent that Moses elevated in the desert to heal those who had been bitten by poisonous snakes (Nm 21:4-9). The cross is a paradoxical symbol of life and death, sin and grace, suffering and healing. Jesus used the powerful “I AM” (egō eimi), the divine name, stating that he and the Father were one.
TO LOVE: Gaze upon a crucifix and contemplate its meaning for your life.
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, by the power of your cross you have redeemed the world.
FIRST DAY OF SPRING
Spring is the season between winter and summer, when most plants begin to grow. In the Northern hemisphere it consists of the months from March to May inclusive, and in the Southern hemisphere as September to November. The liturgical season of Lent coincides with spring. The word "Lent" means springtime, calling to mind the new life and growth, the hope and change that should characterize this time of prayer, penance and conversion. This is the season of initiation into the grace-life of the Church. For 40 days, the Church invites us to start afresh. Just as Nature renews herself every spring, so during the Church’s springtime we are encouraged to begin anew.
Tuesday 20 March
2018
Numbers 21:4-9. Psalm 101(102):2-3, 16-21. John 8:21-30.
O Lord hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you—Psalm 101(102):2-3,
16-21.
Then you will know that I am he.
In this puzzling reading from John we sense that Jesus is not on
the same plane as the Pharisees who were challenging him: ‘You are from this
world; I am not of this world.’ He shows the closeness of his relationship with
his Father. We read that when Jesus is ‘lifted up’ the Pharisees will know who
he really is and his relationship with the Father will be clear.
When Jesus explains that ‘he who sent me is with me, and has not
left me to myself’, we wonder if he is implying that we too can have such a
relationship with God. Today let us reflect on the presence of the Holy Spirit
within each of us, as we pray with our brothers and sisters of different
faiths: Namaste ‘Greetings: I honour the God within you who is also within me.’
Saint Salvator of Horta
Saint of the Day for March 20
(1520 – March 18, 1567)
Saint Salvator of Horta’s Story
A reputation for holiness does have some drawbacks. Public
recognition can be a nuisance at times—as the confreres of Salvator found out.
Salvator was born during Spain’s Golden Age. Art, politics, and
wealth were flourishing. So was religion. Ignatius of Loyola founded the
Society of Jesus in 1540.
Salvator’s parents were poor. At the age of 21, he entered the
Franciscans as a brother and was soon known for his asceticism, humility, and
simplicity. As cook, porter, and later the official beggar for the friars in
Tortosa, he became well known for his charity. He healed the sick with the Sign
of the Cross. When crowds of sick people began coming to the friary to see Salvator,
the friars transferred him to Horta. Again, the sick flocked to ask his
intercession; one person estimated that 2,000 people a week came to see
Salvator. He told them to examine their consciences, go to confession, and to
receive Holy Communion worthily. He refused to pray for those who would not
receive those sacraments.
The public attention given to Salvator was relentless. The
crowds would sometimes tear off pieces of his habit as relics. Two years before
his death, Salvator was moved again, this time to Cagliari on the island of
Sardinia. He died at Cagliari saying, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my
spirit.” He was canonized in 1938.
Reflection
Medical science is now seeing more clearly the relation of some
diseases to one’s emotional and spiritual life. In Healing Life’s Hurts,
Matthew and Dennis Linn report that sometimes people experience relief from
illness only when they have decided to forgive others. Salvator prayed that
people might be healed, and many were. Surely not all diseases can be treated
this way; medical help should not be abandoned. But notice that Salvator urged
his petitioners to reestablish their priorities in life before they asked
for healing.
The Liturgical Feast of Saint Salvator of Horta is October 18.
LECTIO DIVINA: JOHN 8,21-30
Lectio Divina:
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Season of Lent
1) OPENING PRAYER
Our saving, merciful God,
wandering in our deserts of injustice and lack of love,
wandering in our deserts of injustice and lack of love,
we cry out with fear
or are stunned into silence,
some into doubt or despair.
Give us enough trusting faith
to look up to Him
who took our evil and doubts upon himself,
suffered for them on a cross, and rose from them,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
or are stunned into silence,
some into doubt or despair.
Give us enough trusting faith
to look up to Him
who took our evil and doubts upon himself,
suffered for them on a cross, and rose from them,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.
2) GOSPEL READING - JOHN 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will
look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot
come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?" He said to them,
"You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to
this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you
will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in
your sins." So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to
them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in
condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell
the world." They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the
Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you
will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what
the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him." Because he spoke this way,
many came to believe in him.
3) REFLECTION
• Last week, the Liturgy led us to meditate on chapter five of
the Gospel of John. This week it confronts us with chapter 8 of the same Gospel.
Like chapter 5, chapter 8 also contains profound reflections on the mystery of
God which surrounds the person of Jesus. It is a dialogue between Jesus and the
Pharisees (Jn 8:13). The Pharisees want to know who Jesus is. They criticize
Him because He gives testimony of himself without any proof or witness to
legitimize himself before the people (Jn 8:13). Jesus responds by saying that
He does not speak in His own name, but always for the Father and in the name of
the Father (Jn 8:14-19).
• In reality, the dialogues are also an expression of how the
faith was transmitted in the catechesis in the communities of the beloved
disciple toward the end of the first century. They show the prayerful reading
of the word of Jesus that the Christians did, considering it Word of God. The
method of question and answer helped to find the response to the problems which
the Jews raised to the Christians toward the end of the first century. It was a
concrete way to help the community to deepen its faith in Jesus and in His
message.
• John 8:21-22: Where I am going, you cannot come. Here John
presents a new theme or another aspect which surrounds the person of Jesus.
Jesus speaks about His departure and says that where He is going the Pharisees
cannot follow Him. “I am going away; you will look for Me and you will die in
your sin“. They will look for Jesus, but will not find Him, because they do not
know Him and will look for Him with mistaken criteria. They live in sin and
will die in sin. To live in sin is to live far away from God. They imagine God
in a certain way, but God is different from what they imagine. This is why they
are not capable to recognize the presence of God in Jesus. The Pharisees do not
understand what Jesus wants to say and they take everything just literally: “Is
He going to kill himself?”
• John 8:23-24: You are from here below; I am from above. The
Pharisees consider everything according to the criteria of this world. “You are
from this world; I am not from this world!” The framework of reference which
guides Jesus in everything which He says and does is the world above, that is,
God, Father, and the mission which He has received from the Father. The
framework of reference of the Pharisees is the world below, without openness,
closed up in its own criteria. This is why they live in sin. To live in sin is
not to have the gaze of Jesus on their life. The look of Jesus is totally open
toward God up to the point that God himself is in Him in all His fullness (cf.
Col 1:19). We say: “Jesus is God”. John invites us to say: “God is Jesus!”.
This is why Jesus says: “If you do not believe that I AM HE, you will die in
your sins”. I AM is the affirmation with which God presents himself to Moses at
the moment of liberating His people from the oppression of Egypt (Ex 3:13-14).
This is the maximum expression of the absolute certainty of the fact that God
is in our midst in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the definitive proof of the
fact that God is with us. Emmanuel.
• John 8:25-26: Who are you? The mystery of God in Jesus does
not fit into the criteria with which the Pharisees judge Jesus. Once again they
ask: “who are you?” They did not understand because they do not understand
Jesus’ language. Jesus was very careful to speak to them according to all that
He experienced and lived in union with the Father and for the knowledge and
awareness of His mission. Jesus does not promote himself. He only says and
expresses what He hears from the Father. He is the pure revelation because He
is pure and total obedience.
• John 8:27-30: When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you
will know that I AM HE. The Pharisees did not understand that Jesus, in
everything He says and does, is the expression of the Father. They will
understand it only after the Son of man will be lifted up. “Then you will know
that I AM HE”. The word lifted up has a double sense, to be lifted up on the
Cross and to be lifted up to the right hand of the Father. The Good News of the
death and resurrection reveals who Jesus is, and they will know that Jesus is the
presence of God in our midst. The foundation of this certainty of our faith is
twofold: on the one side, the certainty that the Father is always with Jesus
and He never remains alone and, on the other side, the radical and total
obedience of Jesus to the Father, which becomes total openness and total
transparency of the Father for us.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• The one who wraps up in his own rules and thinks that he
already knows everything, will never be capable of understanding others. This
is the way the Pharisees were before Jesus. How do I accept the new while not
losing the truths in doctrine and tradition?
• Jesus is radical obedience to the Father, and because of this,
He is total revelation of the Father. What is the image of God which I show and
which comes from me?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Yahweh, hear my prayer,
let my cry for help reach You.
Do not turn away Your face from me
when I am in trouble;
bend down and listen to me, when I call,
be quick to answer me! (Ps 102:1-2)
let my cry for help reach You.
Do not turn away Your face from me
when I am in trouble;
bend down and listen to me, when I call,
be quick to answer me! (Ps 102:1-2)
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