Today, 5th of February, we celebrate
Saint Agatha
First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13
The Lord God is with me, a mighty hero.
I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O Lord of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7
R./ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O Lord, my strength,
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R./ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the Lord, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R./ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R./ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the Lord
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R./ In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
Gospel Reading: John 10:31-42
They wanted to arrest Jesus, but he eluded them.
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.
The folly of protecting God!
We are close to the Holy Week. From the fourth week of Lent, the Gospel texts for the day’s liturgy are almost exclusively from the Gospel of John. In the last two weeks, we have been reading about the progressive revelation of the mystery of God the Father that Jesus makes on the one side and, on the other side, the progressive rejection of the Jews who became more impenetrable to the message of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel presents the second occasion Jesus’ enemies wanted to stone him. The Jews were celebrating the festival of the consecration of their temple. But why this violence? They want to kill him for insulting their God. This is the irony of our religious practices even today. Many people believe they must protect their gods as though God cannot defend himself!
Jesus challenged their faulty understanding of God. He did not ask them to deny God but to probe further into the truth of that God. “You, a man, are making yourself God.” Jews consider this amounts to blasphemy. But Jesus quotes their Scriptures which have God calling some people, “You are gods”. The ‘judges’ mentioned in the scriptures were accepted as people chosen by God and responsible for passing judgment – something which belongs only to God. Therefore, in the scriptures, they were called “gods” (cf. Deut 1:17; Exod 21:6; Ps 82:6).
Christ, the Son of God, now shares his Spirit and life with those who believe in him. Thus, we, as brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God the Father, are members of a new household.
When Jesus was told that his family wishes to see him, he clarifies this concept: Who are my mother and brothers? Those who do the will of God.
Lent is a time to ded¬icate ourselves to God anew and to realise that we are members of the household of God. Identifying our behaviours and speeches unworthy of a son or daughter of God and rectifying them is essential.
Jesus is the new Temple where God would be present and accessible to all. Though they would soon desecrate this “temple” by crucifying him, the Father would re-consecrate (sanctify) him by raising him to new life.
His arguments apparently unsettled Jews and Jesus was in control of the situation. “His time had not yet come”– although it was ominously drawing closer. The final words of today’s Gospel, “Many there began to believe in him” provided a positive conclusion to Jesus’ long and tortuous debate with the Jewish leadership and crowds.
bibleclaretIntroduction
Jesus, the Son of God, showed in his life and actions, that he was no ordinary human being, even in the face of contradiction. Christians, sons and daughters of God without a capital “s” or “d”, who take their faith seriously will also meet contradictions. They cannot compromise if this would be tantamount to betrayal or dishonesty with themselves, with their faith, or with others. But, they know that they are in God’s hands. And their deeds will speak for themselves. With Jesus, God’s Son, may we do the work that the Father has entrusted to us.
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
you are a loyal God,
ever faithful to your promises.
Strengthen our faith,
that with Jesus, we may always keep trusting in you
in spite of prejudices, ridicule or contradiction.
Give us the firm conviction
that you are irrevocably committed to us
in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
General Intercessions
– For men and women, who are persecuted because of their faith and feel abandoned, that they may find strength in prayer, we pray:
– For all, who feel deserted by God and people, that they may learn again through good people that they are in the hands of God, we pray:
– For people who have seriously sinned, that in these days of Lent, they may repent and return to the Lord, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
the sign of your loyalty to us is
that your Son comes among us.
Keep us also loyal to you
when we have to face contradiction
because of our faith.
Give us the Holy Spirit of strength
who inspired your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
Jesus faced opposition
because he claimed to be your Son,
the Son of God.
May we who claim to be
your sons and daughters,
lovingly do what you want us to do,
that people may believe in you and your Son
not so much because of what we say
but because of what we are and do
for the sake of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
May our faith in the Lord Jesus be unshakable. We know how much he has done for us, how he was contradicted, suffered and died for us. He, the Son of God, has made us sons and daughters of God. May God continue blessing you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
