FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own.” (Jn 7:28)

FIRST READING - Wis 2:1a, 12-22

A reading from the Book of Wisdom

The wicked said among themselves,

thinking not aright:

"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;

he sets himself against our doings,

Reproaches us for transgressions of the law

and charges us with violations of our training.

He professes to have knowledge of God

and styles himself a child of the LORD.

To us he is the censure of our thoughts;

merely to see him is a hardship for us,

Because his life is not like that of others,

and different are his ways.

He judges us debased;

he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.

He calls blest the destiny of the just

and boasts that God is his Father.

Let us see whether his words be true;

let us find out what will happen to him.

For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him

and deliver him from the hand of his foes.

With revilement and torture let us put him to the test

that we may have proof of his gentleness

and try his patience.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death;

for according to his own words, God will take care of him."

These were their thoughts, but they erred;

for their wickedness blinded them,

and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;

neither did they count on a recompense of holiness

nor discern the innocent souls' reward.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

From the Gospel according to John

Jesus moved about within Galilee;

he did not wish to travel in Judea,

because the Jews were trying to kill him.

But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,

he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,

"Is he not the one they are trying to kill?

And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.

Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?

But we know where he is from.

When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."

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.

I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me."

So they tried to arrest him,

but no one laid a hand upon him,

because his hour had not yet come.

FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (John 7:1-2. 10. 25-30)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

The Word of God today continues to clarify the identity of Jesus for the Jews as well as for all mankind to know where He came from.

Jesus revealed that He came from God the Father Himself. He was sent by God the Father to earth to save mankind. God is invisible; so in order to be with and accompany humans, God followed His plan to send His Son to earth to become a human being like every other human.

And when the time came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven publicly, God revealed to humanity the true nature of Jesus that He is God, came to earth to be a human being.

He came from God the Father; He came down from heaven, and only He who came down from heaven knows God the Father. But mortal people do not believe in the words of Jesus. They think that He does not speak the truth; He speaks blasphemy." Because of the limited minds and thinking of people, what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears must be clearly verified and confirmed before they believe, and only when it aligns with their reasoning, then they will consider it correct.

But people do not know that God is omnipotent and omniscient. He can do everything and has full authority over the human body. People make the mistake of using their limited minds, selfishness, and arrogance, rather than opening their hearts to hear and receive the graces and fruits of God, as well as to witness the good deeds and teachings of the Son of God. From the words, actions, and condemnation of people towards Jesus, it is further proven that people's sins are very great; they say, "But we know where He is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from."

The words of Jesus in today's Gospel are also fulfilled. This new era is the era of the Holy Spirit’s activity. People in today's era also think they understand all the powers of God, understand the way, thoughts, and works of God, and know everything about God. Those who have such thoughts and ideas are not pleasing to God. To know the way, thoughts, and works of God, each person should pray to God to send the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that they may know how to be humble, self-effacing, recognize their sinful, weak, and lowly status before God, and ask Him to give them enlightenment, so that they can recognize the works in God's plan of salvation, which is being carried out in the House of God the Father in this new era.

Thanks be to God. Amen.