April 5, 2025
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 249
Reading 1
I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.
Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
"Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more."
But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2a) O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion's prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R. O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.
Verse Before the Gospel
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous
heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
Gospel
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
"This is truly the Prophet."
Others said, "This is the Christ."
But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man."
So the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed."
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
"Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?"
They answered and said to him,
"You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."
Then each went to his own house.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040525.cfm
Commentary on
Jeremiah 11:18-20
Jeremiah, as a prophet of God, is the target of vicious
conspiracies which want to wipe him out. In 622 BC, King Josiah of Judah
undertook a religious reform (described in 2 Kings 23) after the Book of the
Law was discovered, having lain hidden for years. It seems that Jeremiah took
an active role in the reform. By championing the reform, which included the
suppression of local shrines, Jeremiah incurred the hatred of his fellow citizens,
the people of Anathoth.
It is then that he compares himself to a “gentle lamb led to
the slaughter”. (A similar phrase will later be applied to Jesus as he is led
to his execution.) For Jeremiah’s enemies are plotting to get rid of him:
Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered!
Jeremiah had no children so, in the eyes of his enemies,
that would be the end of him forever.
But they were ironic words because, as in the case of so
many martyrs in the cause of right, his name is all the more remembered after
his enemies tried to blot him out of existence. And Jeremiah knows that too:
But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Ultimately God is Jeremiah’s only protection against his
enemies. But God will see that truth and justice will prevail in the end. And,
of course, this is true most of all of Jesus:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone. (Ps 118:22)
That is what we reflect on and celebrate as we watch Jesus
go through his Passion in the coming days.
Comments Off
Commentary on John
7:40-53
Today we have a continuation of yesterday’s confusion about
the identity of Jesus. There is a conflict between what people are seeing and
hearing, and what they have been taught to believe. On the basis of his words
and actions, Jesus looks like the Messiah, but as every Jewish child knows, the
Messiah is not going to come from Galilee (where Nazareth is). Rather, he is to
come from Bethlehem and the family of David. This is a good example of
Johannine irony. Of course, Jesus did come from Nazareth, but he was of the
family of David and, as we know from Matthew and Luke, born in David’s town of
Bethlehem.
Even the police are confused. When asked by the religious
leaders why they have not arrested Jesus, they reply:
Never has anyone spoken like this!
They are scolded for their ignorance and told to never mind
how impressively he speaks:
Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? Has any
one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?
And the crowds who surround Jesus and listen to him are
written off as ignorant and cursed:
…this crowd, which does not know the law, they are
accursed.
But one Pharisee, Nicodemus, who had earlier (John chap 3)
spoken with Jesus in secret and had been won over, protests:
Our law does not judge people without first giving them a
hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?
Nicodemus is swept aside by the leaders’ preconceived ideas:
Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from
Galilee.
We need to remember we are not reading this passage to
condemn the Jewish religious leaders or the Pharisees, but to reflect on our
own prejudices and short-sightedness. How do we see Jesus, the Gospel message,
the whole Bible, the Church, our parish community and its leaders? How do we
see our family, friends, neighbours, not to mention strangers and outsiders?
Let him or her who is totally without prejudice or who has never passed
judgement on another cast the first stone.
Let us pray for an open mind to accept in its totality the
message of Jesus. And let us also be very open about the many and surprising
ways in which Jesus can speak to us. If we are honest, there is something of
the Pharisee in every one of us.
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1047g/
Saturday,
April 5, 2025
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Almighty God,
when people encountered
your Son, he became a source of division: he affected their lives one way or
another. May we accept him fully and empty ourselves to make room for him in
our everyday life, even when it hurts.
Help us, that with him we may always seek and do your will.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 7: 40-53
Some of the crowd who had
been listening Jesus said, 'He is indeed the prophet,' and some said, 'He is
the Christ,' but others said, 'Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does not
scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from
Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So the people could not agree about
him.
Some wanted to arrest him,
but no one actually laid a hand on him. The guards went back to the chief
priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought him?' The
guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.' 'So,' the Pharisees
answered, 'you, too, have been led astray? Have any of the authorities come to
believe in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law
-- they are damned.'
One of them, Nicodemus -- the same man who had come to
Jesus earlier -- said to them, 'But surely our Law does not allow us to pass
judgement on anyone without first giving him a hearing and discovering what he
is doing?' To this they answered, 'Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter,
and see for yourself: prophets do not arise in Galilee.' They all went home.
Reflection
In chapter 7, John confirms that
there were diverse opinions and much confusion among the people regarding
Jesus. The relatives thought something (Jn 7: 2-5), people thought something
different (Jn 7: 12). Some said: “He is a prophet!” (Jn 7: 40). Others said:
“He leads the people astray!” (Jn 7: 12). Some praised him: “He is a good man!”
(Jn 7: 12). Others criticized him: “He has not been educated, has not studied!”
(Jn 7: 15). Many opinions. Each one had his own arguments, taken from the Bible
or from Tradition. But nobody remembered the Messiah Servant, announced by
Isaiah (Is 42: 1-9; 49: 1-6; 50: 49; 52: 13-53, 12; 61: 1- 2). Today, also,
there is much discussion on religion, and all take their arguments from the
Bible. As in the past, the same thing today, it happens many times that little
ones are deceived by the discourses of the great ones and, sometimes, even by
the discourses of those who belong to the Church.
•
John 7: 40-44: The confusion among the people.
The reaction of the people is very diverse. Some say: he is the prophet.
Others: he is the Messiah; the Christ. Others claim: He cannot be because the
Messiah will come from Bethlehem, and he comes from Galilee! These diverse
ideas on the Messiah produce division and confrontation. There were some who
wanted to take him, to arrest him, but they did not do it. Perhaps because they
were afraid of the people (cf. Mt 14: 2).
•
John 7: 45-49: The arguments of the authority.
Previously, before the reaction of the people who were in favor of Jesus, the
Pharisees had sent some guards to arrest him (Jn 7: 32). But the guards
returned without Jesus. They had been greatly impressed in hearing people speak
so well: “No one has ever spoken like this man!” The Pharisees reacted: “Have
you also been led astray?” According to the Pharisees who said: “This rabble
knows nothing about the Law” and allows itself to be deceived by Jesus. It is
as if they said: “No, we the chief priests know things better and we do not
allow ourselves to be led astray!” and they say that the people are “damned”!
The religious authority of that time treated people with great contempt.
•
John 7: 50-52: The defense of Jesus by
Nicodemus. Before this stupid argument, the honesty of Nicodemus revolts and he
raises his voice to defend Jesus: “But surely our Law does not allow us to pass
judgment on anyone without first giving him a hearing and discovering what he
is doing?” The reaction of the others is that Nicodemus is mocking them:
“Nicodemus are you also from Galilee? Look at the Bible and you will see for
yourself that prophets do not arise in Galilee!” They are sure! Holding the
book of the past, they defend themselves against the future which arrives and
disturbs them. Today, many people continue to do the same thing. They only
accept the novelty if it agrees with their own ideas which belong to the past.
Personal Questions
•
Today, which are the diverse opinions that
people have about Jesus? And in your community, are there different opinions
which cause confusion? Which? Say them, describe them.
•
There are persons who accept only the novelty
which agrees with their own ideas and which belongs to the past. And you?
Concluding Prayer
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love,
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences; wash me
clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. (Ps 51: 1-2)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét