Day of abstinence from meat (age 14 and up).

 

If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works,

that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Jeremiah 20:10-13

  I hear many people whispering,

“Terror is all around! Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!” All my friends watch me to see if I will slip: “Perhaps he can be deceived,” they say; “then we can get the better of him and have our revenge.”

  But Yahweh, a mighty warrior, is with me. My persecutors will stumble and not prevail; that failure will be their shame and their disgrace will never be forgotten.   Yahweh, God of hosts, you test the just and probe the heart and mind.

Let me see your revenge on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.   Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh and say: he has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!

 

Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

John 10:31-42

 The Jews then picked up stones to throw at him; so Jesus said, "I have openly done many good works among you, which the Father gave me to do. For which of these do you stone me?"

 The Jews answered, "We are not stoning you for doing a good work, but for insulting God; you are only a man, and you make yourself God."  Then Jesus replied, "Is this not written in your law: I said, you are gods? So those who received this word of God were called gods, and the Scripture is always true.

What then should be said of the one anointed, and sent into the world, by the Father? Am I insulting God when I say, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me.

But if I do them, even if you have no faith in me, believe because of the works I do; and know that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."   Again they tried to arrest him, but Jesus escaped from their hands. He went away again to the other side of the Jordan, to the place where John had baptized, and there he stayed.

Many people came to Jesus, and said, "John worked no miracles, but he spoke about you, and everything he said was true." And many in that place became believers.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The DNA Test

 Two elements capture my attention in today's Gospel: Jesus revealing our true identity, and the true test of such identity. Sadly, the crowd being crowd, understands neither of them.

The "am-ness" of God that Jesus claimed moments ago, he now reveals as our own origin and destiny, basing it on the truth of the Scriptures: "You are gods." By receiving the word of God, we become God; or, as the mystic doctor John of the Cross repeatedly puts it, "God-by-participation." Now, the proof of the pudding is in eating.

If one is God by participation, the evidence lies in the way one lives life. Jesus invites the crowd to see the works he does and believe that the Father and he are one. If we were to subject ourselves to a DNA test of our godly origins, would the result be positive or negative?