Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent,
April 08, 2017.
1st Reading: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land. I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees. They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children’s children, with my servant David their prince forever. I will make with them a covenant of peace;it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever. The word of the Lord.
Respon Ps: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
R/. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year,he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” The gospel of the Lord.
SATURDAY REFLECTIONS:
In today’s Gospel quoted above we see the thinking of Caiaphas, the high priest. His words are interesting in that they are both sad and prophetic at the same time. He, along with the other chief priests and the Pharisees, were beginning to plan and plot Jesus’ death. But what’s insightful is the apparent motivation of Caiaphas and the others. Jesus was gaining popularity and they were afraid that this popularity would stir things up with the Romans. They were also jealous that Jesus had attracted so many. So Caiaphas offers the twisted logic that it’s better that one man die rather than all of the people. In other words, he appeared to think that because Jesus was becoming so popular, and the people were listening to Jesus more than they were to the chief priests and Pharisees, that it was better to eliminate the “problem” so that things could return to the way they were.
This reveals the fact that the Pharisees were more concerned about themselves and their status than they were about the Truth. It’s amazing that one of their criticisms of Jesus was that He was doing too many signs and wonders. How strange. If the chief priests and Pharisees were interested in the Truth, they would have also seen the glory and divine authority of Jesus and come to believe in Him and followed Him. But they couldn’t swallow their pride and accept the call to follow someone other than themselves. They couldn’t let go of their position of authority. We often see this same experience in our daily lives. We want to be the center of attention. And so often when we see someone else do well or receive praise we can get jealous. And our jealousy can often turn into a form of envy. Envy means we are angered and saddened by the goodness of another. We can brew over it and want to see them fail.
Pray with me: Lord, may I follow You this coming Holy Week. May I have the love I need to love You even in Your rejection and pain. Help me to shed all envy and selfishness and to see You especially in the sufferings of others and in their goodness. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen. Have a blessed and fulfilled weekend.
Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya