From the responsorial psalm: “Then the virgins shall make merry and dance, and young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 11:45-56, today’s readings)
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Among the people who see firsthand the raising of Lazarus from the dead or hear of it, some begin to believe in Jesus, while others are concerned and tell the Pharisees. The division that results from the works Jesus performs is not accidental. The Sanhedrin convene to determine the best way to preserve their land and nation, and Caiaphas argues that the best way to accomplish this is to kill Jesus. All agree. The irony in this decision is that their intention was “to gather into one the dispersed children of God.” But God brought a scattered people to him in a new and different way. As the plot to kill Jesus unfolds, he suffers his passion and death. Ultimately, through his resurrection, Jesus brings to fulfillment the will of the Father in gathering all of the dispersed children—Jew and Gentile alike—into one true Church, the Body of Christ, in an everlasting covenant. “My dwelling shall be with them,” the LORD says. “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
God, help me understand your plan for me. Just as your plan for all humanity was fulfilled through the obedience of Jesus, teach me to understand and accomplish what you have planned for me. Give me the grace to widen my view of your plan. The Jews who sought to kill Jesus believed that their plan would preserve them as a people and as a nation. But through his resurrection, Jesus brought to every nation what Ezekiel prophesied in your words: “Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD.” As I use every good gift you have given me to choose freely the best step forward, let me remember that what I ought to pray for and hope for always is that your will be done. Jesus, be my guard and guide!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.