＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Daniel 7:13-14

 I continued watching the nocturnal vision:

One like a son of man came on the clouds of heaven. He faced the One of Great Age and was brought into his presence.

 Dominion, honor and kingship were given him, and all the peoples and nations of every language served him. His dominion is eternal and shall never pass away; his kingdom will never be destroyed.

 

Ps 93:1, 1-2, 5

The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Revelation 1:5-8

 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has washed away our sins with his own blood, making us a kingdom and priests for God his Father, to him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

 See he comes with the clouds and every­one will see him, even those who pierced him; on his account all the nations of the earth will beat his breast. Yes. It will be so.

 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, he who is, who was and who is to come: the Master of the universe.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

John 18:33b-37

 Pilate then entered the court again, called Jesus and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”   Jesus replied, “Does this word come from you, or did you hear it from others?”

 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”   Jesus answered, “My king­ship does not come from this world. If I were king like those of this world, my guards would have fought to save me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingship is not from here.”

 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” And Jesus answered, “Just as you say, I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth hears my voice.”

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Read:

The conversation between Jesus and Pilate did not go well. The latter misunderstood Jesus big time. Thus, his talk with Jesus did not get him near the truth. Jesus however had to continue telling the truth about Himself, even though He knew He was digging His own grave with His words.

Reflect:

When two people do not speak on the same level, misunderstanding upon misunderstanding follow suit. Pilate may have felt slighted at how Jesus seemed indifferent in front of him. After all, he has the power to set Him free or condemn Him.

Jesus instead of being cold towards him should rather exert effort to carry favor from him. Yet Jesus answers as if He is in control of everything. This attitude probable affected Pilate’s decision.

If Jesus seemed unconcerned about His life, why should he, the governor of Judea and the representative of the mighty Roman empire bother. And so, seeking the easy way out, Pilate condemned Jesus to death at the instigation of the religious and political elites of Israel during that time.

Despite the uneasiness in his heart, he wants to deal with this irritant as soon as possible.

Respond:

Are we patient enough to seek for the truth or like Pilate we just want to deal with it as soon as possible? Many just persons were condemned hastily because of impatience and our weakness to resist external pressure.

Let us pray for patience that we may have more strength to dedicate time in finding out the truth.