Tag: Pharisees

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

In today’s Gospel, some of the Jews who believe in Jesus struggle to recognize the truth of his divinity. Jesus, truth incarnate in the person of Christ, says to them: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But they believe that as descendants of Abraham, they have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it, then, that Jesus tells them that the truth will set them free? As the Son of God, Jesus freely chooses to do the will of the Father through his passion, death, and resurrection, and in that he invites us into the freedom of discipleship. Jesus tells them: “A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.” Like the people Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel, are there precedents or biases I accept that are obstacles to the truth of Jesus Christ?

God, give me the grace to recognize that I often accept partial truths as if they were incontrovertible realities. Help me take care today of the agendas I set for myself this morning that I check against tonight. Do I measure my worth by the things I plan to do and then carry out? Have I accomplished my will? There is something disappointing and bitter in living that way—checking off accomplishments. What can I hope to accomplish in a day unless I first seek to know your will? God, I want to live today knowing that your Son frees me to hear your voice and do your will.

Lord, thank you for the peace in knowing you are near. You loved me first. Keep me in your truth today and always so that I am free to receive your love!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

So Jesus said to the Pharisees, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals to the Pharisees what is about to take place in his crucifixion. Jesus, the Son of Man, will be lifted up on the cross to die for the sins of all. By telling the Pharisees that unless they believe that Jesus is I AM—that is, Yahweh, God the Father—he invites them into his redemption through faith and repentance: “For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” In God’s love for his people, in that lifting up of Jesus on the cross, a paradox unfolds before all of humanity. The cross becomes an instrument of the resurrection. By dying, Christ destroyed death; by rising, he restored life. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: “For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man.” The Pharisees question Jesus: “Who are you?” Far from being a remnant from the historical life of Jesus, this question is one that I can ask myself daily. But unlike the Pharisees, I have the benefit of knowing the answer through his resurrection. He is I AM.

God, I want to come to a greater understanding of what Jesus meant when he said to the Pharisees: “I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.” Your son sits at your right hand and belongs with you above. The Pharisees who belonged to the world did not recognize the blindness of sin and so would die with their sins in this world. Help me understand that you belong to what is above and that you also want me to die to this world through repentance so that I can rise to new life through your son. Help me realize that Jesus is I AM.

Lord, as you always do what is pleasing to your Father, help me do what is pleasing to you. Be with me today and increase my awareness that with you I am never left alone.

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Fourth Sunday of Lent

“Live as children of light,” Saint Paul says, “for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, worth reading and rereading because of its richness and majesty, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. John’s account of the story begins with Jesus and his disciples encountering the blind man, and the disciples asking whether the man’s blindness was caused by his own sin or that of his parents. Jesus responds that neither the man nor his parents sinned, but rather the man was born blind so that “the works of God might be made visible through him.” Jesus heals the man by spitting on the ground, making mud with the saliva, and spreading the mud over the man’s eyes. Jesus then instructs the man to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The healing causes controversy among the Pharisees, who question the man and his parents about the healing. They are skeptical of the healing and accuse Jesus of being a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath, and they throw the man out of the synagogue. When Jesus hears about this, he approaches the man and Jesus asks if he believes that he is the Son of Man. The man says to Jesus, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worships him. Jesus tells him: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” In this Gospel passage, the man’s physical blindness is lifted, allowing him to see the world around him. Greater yet, he gains spiritual insight into the truth of Jesus’ power and divinity and worships him. Compare this to the Pharisees who reject Jesus and his healing power remain in spiritual darkness, unable to see the truth of who Jesus is.

God, help me distinguish between blindness and sight. Keep me in your light, visible to you, and bring me to life through you. As Saint Paul says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” When the man’s physical blindness is lifted, he comes to believe in you. Bring into the light the things that lie in darkness and lead to death so that I can reject them. From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.”

Lord, I want to live in the light of your truth. “Live as children of light,” Saint Paul says, “for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.” Keep me in your light, Lord!

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.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings