Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent Gospel Jn 10:31-42 - The Word of God For Everyone

READING OF THE DAY

A reading from the Book of Jeremiah

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!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

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.

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear people of God,

The Word of God today continues to reveal to people: Jesus is the Second Person of God, sent by God the Father to come to earth to become human. All of His words and deeds always come from God the Father. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him.

He completely obeyed the will of God the Father in all things. He does not make his own decisions or do things according to his own will, regardless of words or deeds. All the mighty and powerful deeds He performed on the Jewish people came from the direction of God the Father and from the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit acting on the miracles He performed; and the people believed that the works he did came from God.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. But with the limited mind and shallow thinking of humans, they think: He is just an earthly king, He came to free them from human slavery. But Jesus continued to affirm: "I am the Son of God." The arrogant people protested and said: You speak blasphemy. Because in their minds they think: Jesus is just an earthly king. Because of this misunderstanding, they accused Jesus of blasphemy; and they tried every way to kill Jesus. They missed the opportunity: they did not open their hearts to recognize the signs from the miracles and good things that Jesus did for them.

God's Word today calls everyone: do not be like the Jews of old: they only believed in Jesus as an earthly king. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of God who came to earth to become human to save people from the slavery of Satan, from sin, and from eternal death.

He calls everyone: to believe and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ to have eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Thanks Be To God. Amen.

15h00 Ngày 23-03-2024 Kinh Nguyện Lòng Thương Xót Chúa - Đường Vào Thiên Đàng