『 because my aim is to do not my own will,
but the will of him who sent me.』

 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

Wisdom of Solomon 2:1a, 12-22

 Led by mistaken reasons they think,

“Life is short and sad and there is no cure for death. It was never heard that anyone came back from the netherworld. Let us set a trap for the righteous, for he annoys us and opposes our way of life; he reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.

 He claims knowledge of God and calls himself son of the Lord.   He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet him is burdensome to us.   He does not live like others and behaves strange­ly.

 According to him we have low standards, so he keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean. He emphasizes the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having God as father.  Let us see the truth of what he says and find out what his end will be.  If the righteous is a son of God, God will de­fend him and deliver him from his adversaries.

 Let us humble and torture him to prove his self-control and test his pa­tience.   When we have condemned him to a shameful death, we may test his words.”  This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice.  They do not know the mysteries of God nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed.

 

Ps 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 & 23

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

 

After this, Jesus went around Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews wanted to kill him. Now the Jewish feast of the Tents was at hand.  But after his brothers had gone to the festival, he also went up, not publicly but in secret.

 Some of the people of Jerusalem said, "Is this not the man they want to kill? And here he is speaking freely, and they don't say a word to him? Can it be that the rulers know that this is really the Christ? Yet we know where this man comes from; but when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from."

So Jesus announced in a loud voice in the temple court where he was teaching, "You say that you know me and know where I come from! I have not come of myself; I was sent by the One who is true, and you don't know  him. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me."

They would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him because his time had not yet come.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Considering Jesus blasphemous and arrogant, the religious leaders had long wanted to kill Jesus. Their envy was getting the better of them. Yet Jesus was fearless in speaking the truth.

Attracting greater outrage and murderous reaction from the religious leaders, he made two startling statements: that he was the Messiah, God's Anointed One, and that the Jews did not know "the One who is true" but that he alone knew God.

Although Jesus was speaking the truth, the religious authorities could not stomach such claims which they considered blasphemous and arrogant. The leaders' outrage was such that they were plotting to get rid of Jesus, having been envious of him for some time.

We are presented with two contrasting behaviors: Jesus' courage and freedom to speak the truth versus that of the religious leaders. Even though there was a threat to His life, Jesus still secretly went to Judea to attend the Feast of the Tabernacle. He courageously spoke there at the risk of His life.  Where does His courage come from? It originates from His intimate union with the Father.