Daily Bible Reading

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

LECTIONARY
249

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!

PSALM
PS 7:2-3, 9BC-10, 11-12

Response: 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.

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.

A shield before me is God,
who saves the upright of heart;
A just judge is God,
a God who punishes day by day.

GOSPEL
JN 7:40-53

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said,
"This is truly the Prophet."
Others said, "This is the Christ."
But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family
and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?"
So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.
Some of them even wanted to arrest him,
but no one laid hands on him.

So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees,
who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?"
The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man."
So the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed."
Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,
"Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him
and finds out what he is doing?"
They answered and said to him,
"You are not from Galilee also, are you?
Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Then each went to his own house.

Daily Reflection

5th April 2025

Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent

The religious authorities at the time of Jesus had multiple blindfolds, which prevented them from recognizing the authority of Jesus. First of all, they were blinded by a narrow interpretation of scripture, which said that the Christ would not come from Galilee. Secondly, they were afraid of the rising popularity of Jesus. Thirdly, they were scandalized by his radical claim of an intimate relationship with God the Father.

What do we do when faced with stubborn and obnoxious opponents? We need to keep on bearing witness to the truth. For at least some people will recognize the truth, no matter how many others try to smother it. In the case of Jesus, the guards were impressed with the way he spoke. The crowds could see that he was a great Prophet, and even the Christ. Nicodemus, who himself was a Pharisee, pleaded that Jesus be given a fair hearing before he was accused of blasphemy.

Are we open to the truth that numerous people who enter into our lives bear? Or do we prefer to be blindfolded and ignore the truth?