Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

LECTIONARY
255

FIRST READING

JER 20:10-13

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!

PSALM

PS 18:2-3A, 3BC-4, 5-6, 7

Response: 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.

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.


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.

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.

GOSPEL

JN 10:31-42

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.

Daily Reflection

'Be not afraid' was a constant refrain of St. Pope John Paul II, inviting Catholics to be authentic witnesses of their faith to the world. The readings today will remind us that this is no easy task.

For all his preaching, Jeremiah reaped only scorn, ridicule, rejection and enmity. Jeremiah’s bitterness is not so much from the abuse meted out to him, but because of the stubbornness of the people, refusing to accept God’s message.

Jesus’ public ministry was quite revolutionary for the traditional Jewish establishment. He spoke of God’s Kingdom of justice, peace, equality, humble service, love and more… something very alien to what the Jewish authorities preached and practiced. Jesus also spoke of every human as a precious child of God; an ever-loving and merciful God who didn’t operate on the basis of punishments and rewards. However, what really ticked off the Jewish establishment was Jesus claiming to be one with the Father. And so they scorned Him and sought to eliminate Him.

Lord make of us not timid disciples but bold witnesses.