My Reflections for Apr. 07, 2006 - Friday

Reading I
Jeremiah 20:10-13

This is the classic Jeremiah text. He complains about all of his suffering at the hands of the people and then he virtually demands to be vindicated by God taking revenge for him. Maybe this is a little harsh on Jeremiah but the text certainly lends itself to this interpretaion. I like to see it this way as it makes for a more human sort of a prophet. It assures me that Jeremiah is rooted in his humanity and thus I can relate to him all the more easily. Let us pray that we will be able to perserver through all the many situations that we encounter in life.

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 18:2-3, 3-4, 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
John 10:31-42

Sometimes obedience to God and the His command to love can bring us into conflict with the laws of the land. When this happens we need to be ready to stand firmly behind our Christian convictions even if it means that we may suffer for them. The nature of the Gospel is such that this is necessary if we are not going to compromise our witness to our faith in God. We should obviously pray that we will not have to face such a situation but we will certainly meet a similar challenge often in terms of having to stand up for our convictions in the face of the opposition of those around us. Let us pray for the grace to stand firm in the truth.

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.

God's special verse/thought for me today.

my reflections
think: Are you able to be fully human before God as Jeremiah was?

thank You Lord for: