March 27, 2004 - Saturday, 4th Week of Lent

SIGN OF CONTRADICTION

Readings:
Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12; Jn 7:40-52

Introduction

It is hard for a person who "has been seduced by God," as Jeremiah says, to be rejected by the very community to which one has dedicated one's life and before which one bears witness to the spiritual. He is a source of division. So was Jesus. Are we willing to take the risks of being Christian, of being signs of contradiction with Christ? If we can, it will surely hurt. We will be contradicted and ridiculed. Can we accept this with equanimity? It has become our responsibility when we were baptized.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God,
when people encountered your Son,
he became a source of division:
he affected their lives
one way or another.
May we accept him fully
and empty ourselves to make room for him
in our everyday life, even when it hurts.
Help us, that with him
we may always seek and do your will.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Jer 11:18-20

I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;
at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings.

Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,
had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:
"Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will be spoken no more."

But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12

R (2a) O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me,
Lest I become like the lion's prey,
to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me.
R O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Do me justice, O LORD, because I am just,
and because of the innocence that is mine.
Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but sustain the just,
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God.
R O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.
R O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge.

Gospel Reading: Jn 7:40-53

Many who had been listening to the words of Jesus began to say, "This is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some wondered, "Would the Christ come from Galilee? Doesn't Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from Bethlehem, the city of David?" The crowd was divided over him. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers of the Temple went back to the chief priests who asked them, "Why didn't you bring him?" The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man." The Pharisees then said, "So you, too, have been led astray! Have any of the rulers or any of the Pharisees believed in him? Only these cursed people, who have no knowledge of the Law!"

Yet one of them, Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier, spoke out, "Does our law condemn people without first hearing them and knowing the facts?" They replied, "Do you, too, come from Galilee? Look it up and see for yourself that no prophet is to come from Galilee."
And they all went home.

Commentary

JESUS had a country accent. When he was taken bound to Caiphas' house the bystanders said to Peter, "You are one of them for sure! Why, your accent gives you away" (Mt 26:73). Peter spoke like Jesus, with a Galilean accent. The religious authorities had no doubts: no Galilean could be a prophet. The Scriptures said so; "look it up!" How could a prophet come from a backwater like Nazareth, a place never mentioned even once in their Scriptures? ("Nazareth?" Nathaniel had said, "Could anything good come from that place?" Jn 1:46).

Jesus did not correspond to their expectations. To despise someone-parvipensio (thinking little)-St. Thomas Aquinas said, is a great sin against charity. The strange thing is that a person of substance doesn't think little of anyone. It's only upstarts who do. "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted," Jesus said (Mt 23:12). Whoever exalts himself will be humbled-not necessarily by someone else; he is already doing it to himself.

General Intercessions

- That we may accept with serenity when we are contradicted or ridiculed because of our faith, we pray:

- That all those who suffer may put themselves into the hands of God, we pray:

- That Christians may always take sides in favor of what is right and good, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God, our Father,
your Son came among us
to live before our eyes
the life of a loving Son
and a faithful servant.
He is now here in our midst.
Like him, Lord,
may we not seek popularity
or peace at any cost.
So we ask you to give us the courage
to go against the current of opinion
when faithfulness to you so demands.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God, to be faithful to you
and honest with ourselves
is not always comfortable.
Neither was it for your Son Jesus.
We pray you today:
May hardships and misunderstanding
not fill us with bitterness,
but may they be useful in a small way
to bring life and hope
to us and to our neighbor,
as we are united with Jesus,
your Son and our Lord for ever.

Blessing

If we are contested because of our faith and its implications, may God give us the insight and strength not to be afraid but to bear witness to the Lord and to what is right and good. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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