4th FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 7:1-2. 10, 25-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - Wis 2:1a,12-22
"Let us condemn him to a shameful death."
A reading from the Book of Wisdom
1 For, not thinking rightly, they said among themselves:[a]
“Brief and troubled is our lifetime;
there is no remedy for our dying,
nor is anyone known to have come back from Hades.
12 [a]Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is annoying to us;
he opposes our actions,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law[b]
and charges us with violations of our training.
13 He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the Lord.
14 To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,
15 Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.16 He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the righteous
and boasts that God is his Father.
17 Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him in the end.
18 For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
19 With violence and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”
21 These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
22 [c]And they did not know the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense for holiness
nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
"So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come."
✠From the Gospel according to John
1 [a]After this, Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. 2 But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but [as it were] in secret. 25 So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, “Is he not the one they are trying to kill? 26 And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities[a] have realized that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where he is from. When the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” 28 So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.
4th FRIDAY OF LENT - Gospel (John 7:1-2. 10. 25-30)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God
Today's Word of God continues to clarify Jesus’ identity for the Jewish people as well as for all humanity, revealing where He originates.
Jesus reveals that He originates from God the Father Himself. He was sent into the world by the Father to save humanity.
God is the invisible One; therefore, to dwell with and accompany humanity, He carried out His plan by sending His Son to come down to earth to become man like all others, except for sin.
And when the time came to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven publicly, God clearly revealed to humanity that the true Divinity of Jesus is that He is indeed God Himself, who came into the world to become man.
He originates from God the Father. He came down to earth from heaven, and only the One who comes from heaven can know God the Father. Yet, mortal humans did not believe in the Word of Jesus; they claimed that He spoke untruthfully and even blasphemously.
With the limited minds and reasoning of humans, they only believe what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears once it is clearly verified and confirmed; they only accept as true what aligns with their own logic and ways of thinking. But humanity does not realize that God is the Almighty and the All-Perfect One.
He can do all things and holds absolute authority over the human body.
The error of humanity lies in using limited intellect, coupled with selfishness and arrogance, and failing to open their hearts to listen to and receive the graces and fruits that come from God, so as to see the good works and teachings of the Son of God.
The words, actions, and condemnations directed by people against Jesus serve only to demonstrate the magnitude of human sinfulness further.
When they said, “As for this Jesus, we know where He comes from, but when the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from,” this very statement demonstrates their sinfulness.
The words of Jesus in today's Gospel are also being fulfilled. For this new era is the Age of the Holy Spirit’s activity.
People in today’s world also presume to understand all of God's power, claiming to fully understand God's ways, His thoughts, and His works, as if they know everything about Him.
Those who harbor such thoughts and attitudes do not please God.
To understand the ways, thoughts, and works of God, let each person pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may learn to be humble and self-abasing, recognizing our sinful, weak, and lowly state before God to practice self-emptying, and to acknowledge their own sinful, fragile, and lowly nature before God.
In this way, we ask for the grace of enlightenment to recognize the saving works of God's plan of salvation, which are being carried out in the House of the Father during this New Era.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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