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| “Jesus Before the Temple” by Marcantonio Raimondi, c. 1500s |
Reading 1: Wisdom
2:1a, 12-22
The wicked said among
themselves,
thinking not aright:
"Let us beset the just
one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our
doings,
Reproaches us for
transgressions of the law
and charges us with
violations of our training.
He professes to have
knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of
the LORD.
To us he is the censure of
our thoughts;
merely to see him is a
hardship for us,
Because his life is not like
that of others,
and different are his ways.
He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths
as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of
the just
and boasts that God is his
Father.
Let us see whether his words
be true;
let us find out what will
happen to him.
For if the just one be the
son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand
of his foes.
With revilement and torture
let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his
gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a
shameful death;
for according to his own
words, God will take care of him."
These were their thoughts,
but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded
them,
and they knew not the hidden
counsels of God;
neither did they count on a
recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent
souls' reward.
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Commentary on Wis
2:1a, 12-22
In this passage
from Wisdom we see scripture usually associated with the Passion of the
Lord. It draws heavily on imagery from
the “suffering servant” in Isaiah (Isaiah
52-66 ff). The motives and feelings of those who oppose
God are laid bare in clear language.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23
R. (19a) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD confronts the
evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of
them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the
LORD hears them,
and from all their distress
he rescues them.
R. The Lord is close to
the brokenhearted.
The LORD is close to the
brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in
spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the
just man,
but out of them all the LORD
delivers him.
R. The Lord is close to
the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his
bones;
not one of them shall be
broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of
his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes
refuge in him.
R. The Lord is close to
the brokenhearted.
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Commentary on Ps
34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23
Psalm 34 is
generally a song of thanksgiving; however, this selection is more from the
wisdom tradition supporting the first reading.
We hear the fruits of the evildoers whose motives were made clear above and
how the Lord supports the just man.
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Gospel: John
7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus moved about within Galilee ;
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.
Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem
"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 Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ 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.
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Commentary on Jn
7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Jesus leaves
Galilee for the last time and goes down to Jerusalem St. John
Jesus challenges
their understanding that the Christ (Messiah) would reveal himself “suddenly
and unmistakably, and that prior to this manifestation he would be completely
hidden”[4] The Lord proclaims himself to be the one and
says further that they know what he is talking about.
The fact that
they cannot arrest him testifies to the fact that the crowd at least was
divided on his identity. The authorities
would not have wanted to stir up controversy in the middle of the celebration
of a major feast.
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Reflection:
Today we pray for our new Holy Father, Pope Francis. May God bless him as he shepherds the
faithful through many years to come. May
the Blessed Virgin be a source of inspiration to holiness and may the Holy
Spirit be his constant guide. Amen
We see in St.
John’s account of Jesus’ return to Jerusalem Jordan
by St. John the Baptist, Jesus has had only one goal, to reveal to the Father’s
creation that he loves them and that the Law and the Prophets are an attempt to
show the people how to imitate that love in order for them to live in His peace
and to inherit the Kingdom of God; coming there at last at the end of this
world.
That was his purpose in
coming in a nut shell. It is clear in
the stories from the Gospels that coming as he did, “taking the form of a slave coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance” (Philippians 2: 7) Jesus saw with those human eyes that his mission was not close to
being accomplished. The emotion of this
realization is captured by St. John’s
The Lord fairly begs the
people present to understand the mission with which he is charged. But they do
not see. They are weak and afraid. They have heard that this man was dangerous and
that the chief priests want him dead.
Even so we are surprised they did not arrest him when he revealed
himself.
It is the purpose of Christ’s
mission that rewards our faith in him and that reward is not given with out
faith and trust. It is a great irony
that in order to find salvation we must be willing to accept on faith that the
gift of faith has promised this great prize.
And as the Lord “cries out” to us to accept his mission and example, we
find the real purpose in our Lenten journey.
We are to cast away our fear and weakness and to accept the offer God
has issued through his Only Son.
This, we know, is a very hard
thing to do. Human weakness is built
into us all. The need to conform to the
group satisfies an internal urge to be loved and often the group is not guided
by the divine will of Christ and we fail.
But the Lord continues to cry out to us; continues to open the way for
us. So great is his love that he accepts
our blemishes, our weakness, and our fear; cherishing us even in our sin. It is unwavering fidelity that often confuses
us. We cannot understand how one so pure
could love us.
To our continuing amazement
we recognize rationally that he is still crying out to us; calling us home to
him and we pledge ourselves once more to respond. We offer that response as our prayer today.
Pax
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