Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: John 7:40-53
Many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some wondered, “Would the Christ come from Galilee? Doesn’t Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David?” The crowd was divided over him. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.The officers of the temple went back to the chief priests, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man.” The Pharisees then said, “So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in him? Only these cursed people, who have no knowledge of the law!” Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, “Does our law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?” They replied, “Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee.” And they all went home.

Reflections

“No one ever spoke like this man.”Jesus catches the attention of each one in the Temple. They do not know how to handle him. To those who believe he is a prophet, he must be treated as such. They should be careful what to do with him. Otherwise, they will be condemning an innocent man.To those who know their little faith in him argue that he cannot be a prophet because he is a Galilean, though he can do wonderful things.To those who do not give him an inch, even a benefit of the doubt, like the elders and Sad­ducees, he must be arrested and eliminated. Such person should not be allowed to disturb their peace and the status quo.Jesus can be a source of controversy. Until now, we have different views of Jesus. It depends on where we are coming from. Catholics can avoid being embroiled in useless debates if they study their faith, the scriptures and truly have a sense of belongingness to the Church. We get Jesus wrong if one of these elements is absent. We can do harm to our faith and to others when we just say anything about Jesus without knowing his context.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
After this, Jesus went around Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews wanted to kill him. Now the Jewish feast of the Tents was at hand.But after his brothers had gone to the festival, he also went up, not publicly but in secret.Some of the people of Jerusalem said, “Is this not the man they want to kill? And here he is speaking freely, and they don’t say a word to him? Can it be, that the rulers know that this is really the Christ? Yet we know where this man comes from; but when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.”So Jesus announced in a loud voice in the temple court where he was teaching, “You say that you know me and know where I come from! I have not come of myself; I was sent by the One who is true, and you don’tknow him. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” They would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him because his time had not yet come.

Reflections

“I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” The enemies of Jesus presume they know where the Messiah comes from. They base their knowledge on their own tentative interpretations. At this time Jesus is at large because he violated the Sabbath and claimed to be equal to God.The Jews look for him during the Feast of Tents (or Booths) which celebrates the forty-year wandering of the Hebrew people in the Sinai desert before entering the Promised Land. Every male Jew is required to attend this. They are on the look out to arrest him. They do not tolerate his grave offenses. It is bad for their religion if he is not contained and disciplined.In the Temple, Jesus in a loud voice disproves that the authorities know about the Messiah and where he is coming from. They are all wrong. He is the Messiah, “christos“ in Greek. He comes from God. He is sent by God. He has been laying his claims on this by making signs (miracles). There is no need for further scrutiny or debate.Present authorities can be so brutal or extra careful if they are not sure of what they know or do. They will silence an innocent man for their comfort.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 5:31-47*

If I bore witness to myself, my testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to me, and I know that his testimony is true when he bears witness to me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved.John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were willing to enjoy his light. But I have greater evidence than that of John—the works which the Father entrusted to me to carry out. The very works I do bear witness: the Father has sent me. Thus he who bears witness to me is the Father who sent me. You have never heard his voice and have never seen his likeness; therefore, as long as you do not believe his messenger, his word is not in you. You search in the Scriptures, thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to me. But you refuse to come to me, that you may live. I am not seeking humanpraise; but I know that the love of God is not within you, for I have come in my Father’s name and you do not accept me. If another comes in his own name, you will he wrote, how will you believe what I say? accept him. As long as you seek praise from one another, instead of seeking the glory which comes from the only God, how can you believe?Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. Moses himself, in whom you placed your hope, accuses you. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?

Reflections

“If I bore witness to myself, my testimony would be worthless.”Bearing witness is to testify to the presence of God. John the Baptist bears witness to Jesus for him to be recognized. He points out to people that he is there in their midst. Greater than the witness of John is Jesus’ own works, which the Father entrusts to him. The Jews who oppose him rely on the Torah for light and life. They fail to interpret their sacred writings because they take glory in their own interpretations. They have devised ways to understand the Hebrew Bible. They compete with one another with regard to giving the best interpretation of the biblical verses.Jesus tells them that if they are reading the Scriptures right, then they should be led to believe in him. The whole scriptures point to him as God’s Son and source of salvation.Interpretation of a biblical verse or passage is flawed if it is taken out of its context. Biblical verses must not be interpreted apart from the whole Bible and divine revelation. Worse happens if the Bible is taken out of the Church that has produced it, transmitted it and lived by it in their mission, prayer and liturgical life throughout the centuries.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: John 5:17-30*
Jesusreplied, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made himself equal with God, calling God his own Father.Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by himself, but only what he sees the Father do. And whatever he does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom he wills. (…) Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father who sent him. (…)Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in himself, and he has given to the Son also to have life in himself. And he has empowered him as well to carryout Judgment, for he is Son of Man.Do no I can do nothing of myself. As I hear, so I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.t be surprised at this: the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear my voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

Reflections
“I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”
One can get killed if he makes false claims. Jesus almost gets killed when he claims he is equal to God. How can he so intimately claim God as his Father? Normally it is not done by a respectable Jew. He has just made the authorities crazy when he cured a sick man on a Sabbath. And he does it in the Temple, the center of Jewish worship, where the observance of the law is foremost. Jesus justifies his “breaking the Sabbath” because his Father whom he imitates works even on a Sabbath. God works with out day off. His Son Jesus, too, has the same regimen.
Whether they like it or not, he is going to seek doing the will of his Father, 24/7 nonstop. He is focused not on his personal agenda, but on his Father’s. He is not supposed to cower in fear when challenged. He has to be strong in the midst of opposition so that he can accomplish his mission as God sent to save the world. It is easy to keep quiet when we are told we are wrong. Our objectors are not necessarily correct. Never should Christians compromise truth, peace, liberation, justice and faith.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019