Monday in IV Week
of Lent
Mass Readings: Is
65:17-21; Ps 30:1.3. 4-5. 10-11a. 12b; Jn 4:43-54
Key Verse to Ponder:
Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the
word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way (Jn 4:50).
Amid the sufferings, confusion, and fragility of
human life, the Word of God consoles us, as we hear in today’s first reading: “No
more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more
shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old person who
does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be
considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered
accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards
and eat their fruit” (Is 65:19b–21). God promises to create a new
heaven and a new earth, where suffering and death will come to an end through
the mighty hand of God: “For I am about to create new heavens and
a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
Even amidst chaos, suffering, and fear, we are called to place our hope in God:
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am
about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice
in Jerusalem and delight in my people” (Is 65:18–19).
The Gospel of today from St. John presents the
second miracle of Jesus at Cana in Galilee. At the beginning of the passage we
are reminded that a prophet is not honoured in his own country. Already in the
opening chapter of the Gospel, John points out that Jesus was not welcomed by
his own people: “He came to what was his own, and his own
people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11). From a literary point of
view, Jesus’ birthplace is Nazareth, a small and little-known village in
Galilee. John emphasizes this point to underline the missionary dimension of
Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was sent first to the people of Judea, whose religious
center was Jerusalem, yet he was not well received there (Jn 1:11).
When the royal official heard that Jesus had come
from Judea to Galilee, he sought him out, knowing that only Jesus could help
his dying son. He went and begged Jesus to come to his house and heal the
child. The official already shows signs of faith, yet Jesus responds with a
challenging remark: “Unless you see signs and wonders, you
will not believe.” This statement carries an important lesson for
all of us who sometimes fall into the habit of seeking faith only through
extraordinary signs and miracles.
The clue to the issue appears in the next verse
when the royal official insists that Jesus come personally to heal his son: “Sir,
come down before my little boy dies” (Jn 4:49). Perhaps he had
witnessed the signs Jesus performed in Jerusalem, and this may have been the
reason behind Jesus’ sharp response. This moment becomes a test of the depth of
the official’s faith, much like the testing of the faith of the Syrophoenician
woman.
When the official passes this test of faith,
Jesus assures him: “Go; your son will live.” The
man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his journey home
(Jn 4:50). Because of this healing, his entire household came to believe in
Jesus. The signs performed by Jesus reveal the presence of God and the coming
of His Kingdom among the people. Jesus recognized the faith of this man and the
love he had for his son. Therefore, he granted the healing that the man
requested.
Remarkably, the official did not insist that
Jesus accompany him or perform some visible action. He simply trusted in the
word of Jesus. What extraordinary faith! Without true faith, there is no true
discipleship. Without discipleship, there is no true obedience. And without
obedience, the Kingdom of God cannot flourish. Faith in Christ is genuine when
we believe in His word. If we do not believe in His word, we do not truly
believe in Christ. Salvation ultimately comes not from miracles but from the Word.
Those who truly believe in the Word experience its power in their lives.
One of the powerful messages that emerges from
the two signs Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee is the importance of
faith—faith that is always rewarded, especially faith that trusts in Jesus’
word even without seeing. These two signs in Cana form a kind of inclusio
within the Gospel narrative. Later, the proclamation of St. Thomas at the end
of the Gospel echoes the same truth: “Blessed are those who
have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29).
Yahweh promised through the prophet Isaiah that
infants would no longer die prematurely (Is 65:20). In the Gospel, Jesus
restores the life and health of the official’s son, thus fulfilling the hope
proclaimed by the prophet. Interestingly, the royal official becomes an example
of faith. While Jesus was not accepted in Jerusalem, here a royal
official—likely a non-Jew and connected with Roman authority—believes in Jesus
and trusts His word. Faith, therefore, means receiving Jesus and opening our
hearts to His word.
When Jesus healed the son of the royal official
in Galilee, he did not force the man to believe. He simply told him, “Go;
your son will live.” The healing occurred at a distance. Only while
returning home—on the road—did the father receive the joyful news that his son
had been healed. The same is true for us. Very often, the healings and profound
changes we need happen along the journey of life as we walk the path that the
Lord shows us.
Naturally, we often desire immediate, visible,
and tangible results. Yet faith calls us to trust in a God who loves us even
when the outcome is not immediately visible. Faith is a journey into the
unknown, sustained by trust in God. Even the healing of the ten lepers took
place along the way. The risen Jesus encountered the sorrowful disciples on the
road to Emmaus. True faith welcomes the word of Jesus and trusts in it.
In this Gospel passage we witness the power of
the divine word and the absolute trust placed in Jesus. Jesus rewarded the
official’s faith, just as he rewards the faith of every person who approaches
him with trust. The evangelist concludes by noting that this was the second
sign that Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.
Points for Personal Reflection:
·
Do I truly believe in the words of Jesus and in
all that He has said to me?
·
In what ways can I imitate the faith of the
royal official in my own life?
·
Do I approach Jesus with expectant faith,
seeking healing, pardon, and mercy?
The Lord Jesus never refuses anyone who comes to Him with faith and trust.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Tuesday
in IV Week in Lent
Mass Readings: Ezek
47:1-9. 12; Ps 46: 2-3. 5-6. 8-9; Jn 5:1-16
Key Verse to Ponder: When
Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said
to him, "Do you want to be made well?" (Jn 5:6)
The first reading (Ezek 47:1–9, 12) presents the
vision of the prophet Ezekiel about the river of God flowing from the
sanctuary. In Ezekiel’s vision, the water that brings health and life
symbolizes the grace that God will abundantly bestow in the messianic age. The
river becomes the source of life and vitality, sustaining all creation: “Wherever
the river flows, all living creatures that swarm in it will live, and there
will be very many fish. For wherever this water goes it brings healing, and
life will flourish wherever the river flows. Along the river, on its banks, on
either side, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not
wither nor their fruit fail; they will bear fresh fruit every month, because
the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and
their leaves for healing” (Ezek 47:9, 12).
We find this living water fully revealed in
Jesus, who gives life in abundance and grants eternal life to those who believe
in Him. As Jesus proclaimed: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,
and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of
the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (Jn
7:37–38; see also Jn 4:14). The time foretold by the prophets has come with the
coming of Jesus Christ. For this reason, Jesus does not lead the sick man to
the pool of Siloam—the symbol of the grace of the Old Testament—but heals him
through his own divine power.
In the Gospel of John, we encounter the episode
in which Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethzatha near the temple area. This
place was not the Temple itself but a large reservoir used to collect water
necessary for the purification of the sheep destined for sacrifice. The
periodic stirring of the water, which people believed had healing power, was
likely caused by the sudden inflow of running water from the bottom of the
tank. Yet the hope for healing led hundreds of suffering people to gather
there, waiting for the waters to move and rushing into the pool in the hope of
being cured. The temple authorities themselves often looked upon this practice
with some annoyance, seeing in it an obvious form of superstition.
The pool may also have functioned as a ritual
bath for purification before entering the Temple to pray or offer sacrifices.
For this reason, many people probably avoided the area so as not to be
contaminated by contact with the sick and suffering. However, when Jesus came
to Jerusalem, he did not remain in comfort or leisure. Instead, he deliberately
went to this place of misery and suffering. There he encountered a helpless
paralytic who had been suffering for thirty-eight years. This long period recalls
Israel’s wandering in the wilderness for thirty-eight years—from Kadesh to the
brook Zered (cf. Deut 2:14)—a time marked by hardship and waiting. For this
man, the years of illness must have seemed like an endless wilderness
experience.
The sick man had been lying there for
thirty-eight years, abandoned and without help. We can easily imagine his
pitiable condition. John tells us that many invalids lay there—blind, lame, and
paralyzed (Jn 5:3). The paralytic lying under the porticoes of the pool of
Bethzatha becomes a symbol of humanity itself. Humanity is paralyzed not only
in the body but also in the soul—in the spirit, heart, thoughts, and will. Such
a person becomes incapable of doing what is truly good and remains confined to
his fate, passively waiting for something to happen. This condition may be
described as spiritual sloth. What he truly needed was healing. Such healing
can only come through listening to the word of Jesus and believing in his
Gospel.
In today’s Gospel (Jn 5:1–16) we hear some
powerful statements of Jesus that deserve deep reflection: “Do
you want to be made well?” (Jn 5:6); “Stand up, take your
mat and walk” (Jn 5:8); and “See, you have been
made well! Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you”
(Jn 5:14). Jesus is concerned not only about our physical well-being but also
about our spiritual health. If someone asked a chronically ill patient—or
someone suffering from a serious illness—the immediate answer would naturally be
yes. Yet Jesus also warns the man not to return to a life of sin, which
distances us from God and from others.
Points for Personal Reflection
Do I realize that it is Jesus who can truly heal
both my body and my soul? Do I take seriously the invitation of Jesus today: “Do
you want to be made well?” (Jn 5:6) and “Stand up, take your
mat and walk” (Jn 5:8)? What is my response of faith to these
words?
At first, the question may sound strange: Do
you want to be healed? Of course we all want to be well. Yet Jesus
knows that healing also means change. For this man, healing after decades of
illness meant leaving behind the life he had known. In the time of Jesus, the
sick were often considered cursed by God or punished for sin. Perhaps this man
had even come to believe that he was condemned.
To desire healing, therefore, meant taking a
great risk—the risk of leaving behind the old mat, the old habits, and the old
way of life. True healing requires the courage to listen to Jesus and trust in
his life-giving word. God does not save us without our cooperation. He does not
perform miracles cheaply. If we truly want to change, we must have the courage
to move forward, to grow, and to begin a new life.
The paralytic was healed and his life was
transformed. Today the Lord asks each one of us the same question: Do
you want to be healed? He tells us: “Get up, take your mat
and walk.” What will be my answer to Jesus today?
Jesus calls each of us to conversion. He offers
us reconciliation with the Father and the healing we need. Listening to today’s
Gospel, each of us must discover our task in the command of Jesus: “Get
up, walk, and do not sin anymore.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Wednesday
in IV Week of Lent
Mass Readings: Is
49:8-15; Ps 145: 8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18; Jn 5:17-30
Key Verse to Ponder: For
this reason, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not
only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby
making himself equal to God (Jn 5:18).
In today’s first reading (Is 49:8–15), we once
again encounter the beautiful imagery of God as the one who cares for His
people with the tenderness of a mother. During these days of Lent, the first
readings frequently emphasize God’s special care and compassion for His people.
Yesterday, in the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, we heard about the
life-giving water flowing from the Temple sanctuary, bringing life wherever it
flowed: “On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all
kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but
they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from
the sanctuary” (Ezek 47:12).
In today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah, the
Lord promises a better life and a transformation in the situation of His
people: “They shall feed along the ways, and on all the bare heights
shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind
nor sun shall strike them down; for he who has pity on them will lead them, and
by springs of water will guide them. And I will turn all my mountains into a
road, and my highways shall be raised up” (Is 49:9–11). The prophet
proclaims the release of prisoners and the comfort of the Lord, announcing that
the day of salvation has come.
The Lord assures the Israelites that His love is
even greater than that of a mother for her child. Humanly speaking, a mother
would never forget her nursing child, yet God declares that His love is even
more faithful: “The Lord has comforted his people and
will have compassion on his suffering ones. But Zion said, ‘The Lord has
forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I
will not forget you” (Is 49:13–15). This powerful image reveals the
depth and permanence of God’s love for His people.
The first part of the fifth chapter of John
speaks about the healing of the man at the pool of Bethzatha on the Sabbath.
The Jews were greatly angered because Jesus appeared to break the Sabbath law.
Today’s Gospel (Jn 5:17–30) continues this episode, where Jesus publicly
proclaims the source of His healing power and authority—His Father. Jesus
explains that He has been sent by God the Father and that He carries out the
Father’s will. For the Jewish leaders, this claim sounded like blasphemy
because Jesus called God His own Father. As the Gospel states: “For
this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not
only breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby
making himself equal to God” (Jn 5:18).
Thus, two accusations were raised against Jesus:
breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy. These accusations eventually led the Jewish
authorities to seek His death. They could not accept that Jesus was truly the
Son of God. Yet Jesus clearly told them that the Father had given Him the
authority to perform signs and miracles and even the authority to judge: “And
he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man”
(Jn 5:27). Standing before them, Jesus was the fulfillment of the messianic
promises—bringing healing, restoration, and new life.
In this passage we also encounter what may be
called a “spirituality of the Father.”
Jesus attributes everything to the Father and remains completely united with
Him: “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but
only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does
likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing;
and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished”
(Jn 5:19–20).
Jesus describes His mission entirely in relationship with the Father:
1. The
Father continues His work through the Son: “My
Father is still working, and I also am working.” Just as the Father
raises the dead and gives life, so the Son gives life to whom He wills (Jn
5:17, 21).
2. The
Father has entrusted judgment to the Son: “The
Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son.”
3. The
Son shares the divine life of the Father: “For
just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have
life in himself” (Jn 5:26).
4. Jesus
seeks only the will of the Father: “I can do nothing on my
own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own
will but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 5:30).
Jesus knew that the authorities were seeking to
kill Him because He spoke the truth. Yet He remained fully committed to
carrying out the will of the Father. His obedience was born out of love, and He
invites all of us to imitate Him by listening to the voice of God.
Jesus makes it clear that His claim to be the Son
of God rests on divine authority. He is the Anointed One sent by the Father. As
the prophet Isaiah proclaimed in today’s first reading: “In
a time of favor I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped
you.” Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by bringing healing,
restoration, and forgiveness to all who accepted Him and believed in His
message.
To honor the Son is to honor the Father who sent
Him. As Jesus declares: “So that all may honor the Son just as
they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the
Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come under judgment, but
has passed from death to life” (Jn 5:23–24).
Points for Personal Reflection
How attentive am I to the Word of God? Do I
listen to it with faith and trust? To believe in Jesus means to choose life,
while refusing to believe in Him means choosing death. Jesus spoke clearly
about His relationship with the Father and His mission as the Son. Do I seek to
know Jesus more deeply and love Him more sincerely? For to love and honor Jesus
is to love and honor the Father.
The spirituality of Jesus
was entirely centered on the Father. His life and mission reflected the
Father’s will and His loving obedience to it. May we also learn to live our
lives in faithful obedience to God’s will.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Friday
in IV Week of Lent
Mass Readings: Wis
2:1. 12-22; Ps 34:16-17. 18-19. 20. 22; Jn 7:1-2.10.25-30
Key Verse to Ponder: Can
it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah? (Jn 7:26).
At that time, the Festival of Tabernacles, also
known as the Feast of Booths, was being celebrated, and Jesus went up to Judea.
His brothers had gone ahead of him, and Jesus followed them later. Here, it is
not entirely clear whether the word “brothers”
refers to his apostles, his disciples, or his relatives. Jesus alone knew the
proper time for his actions—when to reveal himself and when to remain hidden.
When his brothers urged him to manifest himself openly to the world, he
replied: “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here”
(Jn 7:6).
When Jesus eventually went up to the feast and
began teaching in the Temple, the people recognized that he was the one whom
the religious authorities were seeking to arrest. The central issue in today’s
Gospel (Jn 7:1–2, 10, 25–30) concerns the question of the origin of the
Messiah. Many believed that the Messiah would appear suddenly and establish
order, even political order. Therefore, when Jesus spoke about his relationship
with God the Father, many found it difficult to believe him. They thought they
knew where he came from and were aware of his earthly background and
profession.
However, Jesus pointed out that their
understanding was incomplete. They knew only his earthly origin but failed to
recognize his heavenly origin. Jesus had come in the name of the Father and
proclaimed publicly that he alone truly knew the Father: “You
know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one
who sent me is true, and you do not know him. I know him, because I am from
him, and he sent me” (Jn 7:28–29). These words reveal the unique
relationship between Jesus and the Father and affirm his divine mission.
In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom (Wis
2:1, 12–22), we hear a prophetic description of the evil intentions of those
who plotted against the righteous one. The life of the righteous person becomes
a challenge to the wicked because it exposes their wrongdoing. The text states:
“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is
inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against
the law and accuses us of sins against our training. He professes to have
knowledge of God and calls himself a child of the Lord” (Wis
2:12–13).
These words strikingly anticipate the opposition
that Jesus would face. His claim that God was his Father was considered a grave
offense by the Jewish authorities. To them, it sounded like blasphemy. While
they kept God at a distance, Jesus revealed God as a loving Father and brought
Him close to humanity. Because of this, the religious leaders refused to accept
Jesus and his message, and they began to plot against him.
They even wanted to test whether God would rescue
him if they attempted to kill him. Yet Jesus remained steadfast in his mission.
Even in the face of rejection and death, he remained faithful to the will of
the Father, because he knew who his Father was and trusted completely in Him.
Points for Personal
Reflection
How deeply do I know God through Jesus Christ? Do
I rely only on intellectual knowledge, or do I also nurture a living faith in
Jesus? In what ways can I grow in my knowledge of God and deepen my
relationship with Him?
…………………………………………………………..
Saturday
in IV Week of Lent
Mass Readings: Jer
11:18-20; Ps 7:1-2. 8-9, 10-11; Jn 7:40-53
Key Verse to Ponder: They
replied, "Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you
will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee" (Jn 7:52).
Today’s Gospel (Jn 7:40–53) is a continuation of
yesterday’s passage. Once again, we witness the remarkable faithlessness of the
Pharisees. They struggled greatly with the identity of Jesus, particularly
because he came from Galilee. In their view, Galilee was known mainly for
fishermen and ordinary people, and therefore they found it difficult to accept
that the true Messiah could come from such a place.
The common people, however, readily acknowledged
Jesus and acclaimed him as a prophet and even as the Messiah.
Nicodemus also timidly supported him, arguing that it was unjust to condemn a
person without first hearing him. The temple guards were sent to arrest Jesus,
yet they returned empty-handed because they were captivated by his words. Jesus
was not only powerful in his deeds but also powerful in his words.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus later
testified to this truth when they spoke of Jesus as “a prophet mighty in
deed and word before God and all the people” (Lk 24:19–20).
Similarly, those who heard him in Nazareth “were amazed at the
gracious words that came from his mouth” (Lk 4:22). The words of
Jesus were always spoken in the power of the Holy Spirit—full of wisdom, truth,
holiness, forgiveness, mercy, and light. His words carried divine authority,
and the Spirit working through them transformed the hearts of those who
listened.
The Pharisees dismissed the common people by
saying that those who did not know the Law were accursed. In reality, it was
the Pharisees themselves who failed to understand the true spirit of the Law.
By declaring others cursed, they in fact pronounced judgment upon themselves.
Moreover, their claim that no prophet could arise from Galilee was not
supported by Scripture. In fact, the prophet Isaiah foretold that light would
arise precisely from Galilee:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations— the
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a
land of deep darkness, on them light has shined” (Is 9:1–2).
It is striking that these supposed experts of the
Law failed to recognize that several prophets were connected with Galilee—such
as Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, Elijah, and Elisha. When Nicodemus cautiously suggested
that they should listen to Jesus before condemning him, they ridiculed him as
well, claiming that “no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
Yet this assertion was not entirely correct. For example, the prophet Jonah
came from Gath-hepher (2 Kgs 14:25), a town located in Galilee (cf. Jos 19:13).
Some scholars also suggest that Hosea, whose ministry focused on the Northern
Kingdom, may have had connections with that region. In truth, the Old Testament
does not present Galilee as an inferior region of the Holy Land. Isaiah himself
spoke of the glory that would arise from “Galilee of the
Gentiles.” Therefore, the Pharisees’ claim appears more like a
contemptuous dismissal than a factual statement.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem but grew up in
Nazareth, which is located in Galilee. Because he was commonly known as Jesus
of Nazareth, the Pharisees assumed that he had been born there.
Yet the Scriptures clearly foretold that the Messiah would be born in
Bethlehem. As the Gospel of Matthew records: “In the time of King
Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came
to Jerusalem” (Mt 2:1).
During his public ministry, Jesus did not
explicitly emphasize that he had been born in Bethlehem. As a result, the
debate among the people centered on Galilee. According to Jewish expectations,
the Messiah had to be a descendant of David and come from Bethlehem, the city
of David (cf. 2 Sam 7:12–13; Ps 132:11; Is 11:1; Jer 23:5; Mic 5:2). Yet the
religious teachers failed to recognize that Jesus indeed fulfilled these
prophecies: he was both a descendant of David and born in Bethlehem. Because of
their prejudice and hardness of heart, they created confusion among the people,
leading to division and misunderstanding.
It is important to note that Galilee was not the
religious center of Judaism; that role belonged to Jerusalem. Galilee was often
referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Mt
4:15), a region with a mixed population. For this reason, many orthodox Jews
looked down upon the Galileans and regarded the region as spiritually inferior.
Yet it was precisely in Galilee that Jesus began his ministry. There he first
proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom, performed his first miracles, and
called his first disciples.
By choosing Galilee as the starting point of his
mission, Jesus showed his preference for the marginalized and those considered
outsiders. He brought the light of God’s mercy to those living on the
peripheries. The religious leaders, however, despised both the region and the
people who lived there. Their contempt extended to Jesus himself, whom they saw
merely as a prophet from Galilee. Yet Jesus deliberately lived among the poor,
the sinners, and the Gentiles to reveal the closeness and compassion of God. In
doing so, he challenged the narrow attitudes of the religious authorities.
Everything that the Scriptures had foretold about the Messiah was being
fulfilled in Jesus, but not according to the rigid expectations and
interpretations of the Pharisees, scribes, and chief priests.
Today’s first reading (Jer 11:18-20) presents a
similar experience in the life of the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was opposed by
his own people because the words he spoke in God’s name did not please them. He
lamented: “It was against me that they devised
schemes, saying, ‘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’”
(Jer 11:19). They plotted to kill him. Yet Jeremiah responded with humility and
trust in God, describing himself as “a gentle lamb led to
the slaughter.” This suffering of the prophet prefigures the
suffering and death of Jesus. Jesus also knew the plans of his enemies but
humbly submitted himself to the will of the Father.
Points for Personal Reflection
Like the prophet Jeremiah and Jesus, himself, we
too may face criticism, misunderstanding, and even hostility when we stand for
God and speak His truth. Do I have the courage to trust God in moments of
difficulty and betrayal? When we stand for God, He will stand by us and guide
us forward. Neither threats nor suffering prevented Jesus from fulfilling the
will of the Father.
Today each of us is invited to reflect on our own
response to Jesus and his message. Whose role do we assume? Are we like those
who falsely accuse Jesus? Are we like Nicodemus, who courageously defended him?
Or are we like the temple guards, who were moved by the authority and grace of
his words?
