Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Luke 22:14–23:56
(…) Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “You said so.” Turning to the chief priests and the crowd, Pilate said, “I find no basis for a case against this man.”(…) When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. Finding the accused to come under Herod’s jurisdiction, Pilate sent Jesus over to Herod who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time.Herod was delighted to have Jesus before him now; for a long time he had wanted to see him because of the reports about him, and he was hoping to see Jesus work some miracle. He piled up question upon question, but got no reply from Jesus. All the while the chief priests and the scribes remained standing there, vehemently pressing their accusations. Finally, Herod

ridiculed him and with his guards mocked him. And when he had put a rich cloak on him, he sent him back to Pilate. Pilate and Herod who were enemies before, became friends from that day.Pilate then called together the chief priests and the elders before all the people, and said to them, “You have brought this man before me and accused him of subversion. In your presence I have examined him and found no basis for your charges. And neither has Herod, for he sent him back to me. It is quite clear that this man has done nothing that deserves a death sentence. I will therefore have him scourged and then release him.” (…)Howling as one man, they protested: “No! Away with this man! Release Barabbas instead.” This man had been thrown into prison for an uprising in the city and for murder. Since Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he appealed to the crowd once more, but they shouted back, “To the cross with him! To the cross!” A third time Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? Since no crime deserving death has been proved, I shall have him scourged and let him go.”But they went on shouting and demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their shouts grew louder. So Pilate decided to pass the sentence they demanded. He released the man they asked for, the one who was in prison for rebellion and murder, and he delivered Jesus in accordance with their wishes. (…)

Lectio Divina
READ: In the Gospel, Jesus receives a warm welcome as he enters Jerusalem. Paul reflects on the meaning of Jesus’ passion and death, his self-emptying. Against the background of Isaiah, Jesus proves to be that suffering servant who does not fight back.
REFLECT: Do you have the ability to suffer indignities without losing your self-confidence and composure? Try absorbing the blows without complaints. You may learn wisdom. Many of us today do not see the significance of sufferings. We all want things to be easy. We prefer convenience. Those who embrace sufferings have stronger resiliency. They are more wise. They can take suffering as part of life, as a way to true success. Christians consider voluntary sufferings for the atonement of their sins. They do this in response to God's call for conversion.
PRAY: Ask the Lord for the grace to imitate the suffering and crucified Christ, in preparation for the resurrection.
ACT: Try not to be vindictive to your friends who offend you. Instead, show your humility to maintain their friendship with you.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what he did; but some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Council.They said, “What are we to do? For this man keeps on performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, all the people will believe in him and, as a result of this, the Romans will come and destroy our Holy Place and our nation.”Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was High Priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! It is better to have one man die for the people than to let the whole nation be destroyed.”In saying this Caiaphas did not speak for himself, but being High Priest that year, he foretold like

a prophet that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also would die in order to gather into one the scattered children of God. So, from that day on, they were determined to kill him.Because of this, Jesus no longer moved about freely among the Jews. He withdrew instead to the country near the wilderness, and stayed with his disciples in a town called Ephraim.The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and people from everywhere were coming to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover. They looked for Jesus and, as they stood in the temple, they talked with one another, “What do you think? Will he come to the festival?”

Reflections

“It is better to have one man die for the people than to let the whole nation be destroyed.”When one is so concerned about preserving one’s status, he becomes paranoid. When Jesus performs many signs or miracles and many of the Jews come to believe in him, those who are in establishment interpret this as a bad sign. They multiply their unfounded fears, saying the Romans will come and get them. So it is better for him to die, says Caiaphas. Seems logical, but he has no basis for saying this. He has not done his homework. Yet death lurks on the side of Jesus.We can waste a life of an innocent man who is supposed to help us go to heaven, if we allow ourselves to be carried by our own fallacies. It is not easy to verify and to wait, to know the truth of the matter. A just man can be condemned to die, when the process is done in haste, backed up with false premises and false witnesses. Justice is not served when there is fear.They did this to Jesus. They also do it to others. Let us remember there is time of reckoning. God vindicates the innocent and erases the wicked from the face of the earth. Where are they now?
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 10:31-42
The Jews then picked up stones to throw at him; so Jesus said, “I have openly done many good works among you, which the Father gave me to do. For which of these do you stone me?”The Jews answered, “We are not stoning you for doing a good work, but for insulting God; you are only a man, and you make yourself God.”Then Jesus replied, “Is this not written in your law: I said, you are gods? So those who received this word of God were called gods, and the Scripture is always true. What then should be said of the one anointed, and sent into the world, by the Father? Am I insulting God when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’?If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do them, even if you have no faith in me, believe because of

the works I do; and know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”Again they tried to arrest him, but Jesus escaped from their hands. He went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had baptized, and there he stayed.Many people came to Jesus, and said, “John worked no miracles, but he spoke about you, and everything he said was true.” And many in that place became believers.

Reflections

“The Father is in me, and I in the Father.”The Jews cannot take Jesus anymore. They have become more violent. They stone him. Jesus asks why? Not because of his good works, but because he makes himself equal to God. Still they are wrong. The good works should lead them to believe in him that he is sent by the Father. There is so much trouble when people have already made up their minds. They have a set of beliefs or framework of mind that cannot be bent. They can no longer accommodate other frameworks or paradigms, even that of Jesus. They consider it as an insult to God. They cannot be convinced otherwise.Religion can be a source of violence if it is not handled very well. When a believer is annoyed (mindless), he becomes dangerous. Anything can happen. A religious group can become a mob or a gangster. Far be it from us! Those who are fanatical.Again, faith is the key to understand what Jesus is saying. We cannot get his point if we are just there to argue with him. It is a gift. It is developed when one becomes a faithful follower, absorbing whatever comes from the mouth of Jesus.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 8:51-59
Truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death.” The Jews replied, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died and the prophets as well, but you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never experience death.’ Who do you claim to be? Do you claim to be greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets who also died?” Then Jesus said, “If I were to praise myself, it would count for nothing. But he who gives glory to me is the Father, the very one you claim as your God, although you don’t know him. I know him, and if I were to say that I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I know him and I keep his word.As for Abraham, your ancestor, he looked forward to the day when I would come; and he

rejoiced when he saw it.”The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” They then picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.

Reflections

“Truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”Whatever Jesus says is met with resistance from the Jews. Hardened unbelievers can never be convinced of whatever he says or does. They will always misinterpret it or give a different color. They are bent on eliminating Jesus. The authorities, like the spiritual leaders in the Temple, cannot reconcile their teachings with Jesus’ claims as the Son of God, existing before the time of Abraham. It is actually a hard claim, difficult to prove or to demonstrate, but Jesus speaks on a different level.Again, faith matters. Faith is taking as true whatever Jesus says. It goes beyond reasoning or calculating. They should not be considered lies or something that is harmful to the soul.Jesus assures anyone in his speech that those who will keep his word will not die. To die here is not the same as dying of old age or from a disease. To die here means to be completely separated from God and from the community. Those who believe in Jesus understand also his language and they will be privileged to see God and supposedly their father Abraham who has gone much ahead of them.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019