FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (John 10:31-42) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” (Jn 10:32)

FIRST READING - Jer 20:10-13

A reading from the Book of Jeremiah

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!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 10:31-42

From the Gospel according to John

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.

FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT - Gospel (John 10:31-42)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today's Word of God continues to reveal to humanity that Jesus is the Second Person of God who came to earth to become a human being.

He was sent into the world by God the Father. All of His words and deeds always come from God the Father.

He is in God the Father, and God the Father is in Him. He completely obeyed the will of God the Father in all things. Whether in word or deed, He did not decide or act on His own.

All of the powerful and mighty works He performed for the Jewish people came from the direction of God the Father and from the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, who acted through the miracles He performed; and the people believed that His works came from God.

It is Jesus Christ who is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

But with the limited minds and shallow thinking of humans, they considered He was simply a king of the world, who was sent to free them from human slavery.

But Jesus continued to affirm: "I am the Son of God.” The arrogant crowd protested, accusing Him of blasphemy. Because in their minds, they thought that Jesus was just a king of the world.

It was from this misunderstanding that they accused Jesus of blasphemy and they tried every way to kill Him. They missed out on the opportunity, they did not open their hearts to recognize the signs of the miracles and the good things that Jesus did for them.

Today's Word of God calls on all of us not to be like the Jews of old, they only believed that Jesus was an earthly king.

We must believe that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of God, who came into the world to become a human being to save all of us human beings from the slavery of Satan, sins, and eternal death.

God calls on all humanity to believe and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ to have eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Thanks be to God. Amen.