THE WORD
Wis 2,1.12-22 / Jn 7,1-2.10.25-30
Jesus moved about within Galilee; but 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. So 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 Messiah? But we know where he is from. When the Messiah 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.
IN OTHER WORDS
The plot to kill Jesus thickens in the Gospel. Premeditation and deliberations are now being hatched by the wicked. The rst reading describes in detail the scheming that is planned. Today’s reading, including the Responsorial Psalm, presents three characters:
The Wicked
Why do they want to kill the son of God? “Because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; at the mere sight of him, we encounter hardship.”
The Wicked resist the invitation to change their ways. Their ways are their delight, their salvation. Turning away from their ways shakes the foundation of their lives. Hopelessly late will they discover that their ways lead to death.
Jesus
He fights the wicked with “gentleness” and “patience” (Wis v.19). He knows exactly what his mission in life is. “I was sent by One who has the right to send.” On his own terms and at the right time, he fulfills the task the Father has designed for him, in order to save the wicked from persistently turning away from Him.
God
“The Lord is close to the broken hearted; those who are crushed in spirit he saves … The Lord redeems the lives of his servants.” Through the sufferings and death of his Son, the Father walks with Jesus, full of anguish and pain. Yet in his heart lurks the awareness of a tiny light that will soon burst into an explosion of light and life that will send his children back to him who will live with him forever.
May the season of Lent bring us closer to the Father.
- Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD | DWST, Tagaytay City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
