FRIDAY IN THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT READINGS AND REFLECTION:
“I AM THE SON OF GOD”
(Jn 8:31-42).
FRIDAY IN THE 5TH WEEK OF LENT
MASS READINGS
READING I
Jer 20:10–13
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.” But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O Lord, my strength,
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the Lord, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the Lord
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Your words, Lord, are spirit and life; you have the message of eternal life.
GOSPEL
Jn 10:31–42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” And many there began to believe in him.
GOSPEL REFLECTION
- 31-33 The Jews realize that Jesus is saying that he is God, but they interpret his words as blasphemy.
- He was called a blasphemer when he forgave the sins of the paralytic (Mt 9:1-8), and he will also be accused of blasphemy when he is condemned after solemnly confessing his divinity before the Sanhedrin (Mt 26:63-65).
- Our Lord, then, did reveal that he was God; but his hearers rejected this revelation of the mystery of the Incarnate God, refusing to examine the proof Jesus offered them; consequently, they accuse him, a man, of making himself God. Faith bases itself on reasonable evidence — miracles and prophecies — for believing that Jesus is really man and really God, even though our limited minds cannot work out how this can be so. Thus, our Lord, in order to affirm his divinity once more, uses two arguments which his adversaries cannot refute — the testimony of Sacred Scripture (prophecies) and that of his own works (miracles).
- 34-36 On a number of occasions the Gospel has shown our Lord replying to the Jews’ objections. Here he patiently uses a form of argument which they regard as decisive — the authority of Sacred Scripture.
- He quotes Psalm 82 in which God upbraids certain judges for acting unjustly despite his reminding them that “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you” (Ps 82:6).
- If this psalm calls the sons of Israel gods and sons of God, with how much more reason should he be called God who has been sanctified and sent by God? Christ’s human nature, on being assumed by the Word, is sanctified completely and comes to the world to sanctify men.
- “The Fathers of the Church constantly proclaim that what was not assumed by Christ was not healed. Now Christ took a complete human nature just as it is found in us poor unfortunates, but one that was without sin, for Christ said of himself that he was the one ‘whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world’” (Vatican II, Ad gentes, 3).
- By using Sacred Scripture (cf. Mt 4:4, 7, 10: Lk 4:1, 17) Jesus teaches us that Scripture comes from God.
- Therefore, the Church believes and affirms that “those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Holy Mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles, holds that the hooks of both the Old and New Testament in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because, having been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21; 3:15-16) they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church… Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching firmly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation” (Vatican II, Dei Verbum, 11).
- He quotes Psalm 82 in which God upbraids certain judges for acting unjustly despite his reminding them that “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you” (Ps 82:6).
- 37-38 The works which our Lord is referring to are his miracles, through which God’s power is made manifest.
- Jesus presents his words and his works as forming a unity, with the miracles confirming his words and his words explaining the meaning of the miracles.
- Therefore, when he asserts that he is the Son of God, this revelation is supported by the credentials of the miracles he works: hence, if no one can deny the fact of the miracles, it is only right for him to accept the truth of the words.
- 41-42 The opposition offered by some people (cf. Jn 10:20, 31, 39) contrasts with the way other people accept him and follow him to where he goes after this.
- St John the Baptist’s preparatory work is still producing results: those who accepted the Baptist’s message now look for Christ and they believe when they see the truth of what the Precursor said: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Jn 1:34).
- Work done in the Lord’s name is never useless:
- “Therefore, my beloved brethren, he steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58). Just as the Baptist’s word and example had the effect of helping many people later to believe in Jesus, the apostolic example given by Christians will never be in vain, even though the results may not come immediately. “To sow. The sower went out… Scatter your seed, apostolic soul. The wind of grace will bear it away if the furrow where it falls is not worthy. Sow, and be certain that the seed will take root and bear fruit’ (J. Escrivá, The Way, 794).
Stay safe and God bless! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
VIDEO REFLECTION
TOPIC: WHEN PEOPLE POINT OUT TO YOU A PAINFUL TRUTH ABOUT YOURSELF, DO YOU GET ANGRY AND DEFENSIVE?
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus faces an angry mob who accuse him of blasphemy for claiming to be God. In the first reading, Jeremiah was persecuted for preaching the truth in God’s name. He was arrested, beaten and imprisoned, a fate Jesus will shortly enter into with crucifixion as its ending.We examine today the way we reveal a painful truth to others and, on the other side of the spectrum, how we receive criticism and correction.
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