april 5 2006

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Reading I Dan 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said: “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,“There is no need for us to defend ourselves before youin this matter.If our God, whom we serve,can save us from the white-hot furnaceand from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you set up.” King Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednegoand cast them into the white-hot furnace.Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,“Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” “Assuredly, O king,” they answered. “But,” he replied, “I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.” Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodiesrather than serve or worship any godexcept their own God.”

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;And blessed is your holy and glorious name,praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!“Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim;
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!

Reading II
Rom 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Gospel Jn 8:31-42 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever,but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.I know that you are descendants of Abraham.But you are trying to kill me,because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;then do what you have heard from the Father.”They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this.You are doing the works of your father!” So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication. We have one Father, God.”Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”
Sin enslaves the sinner. Freedom is freedom from sin.
Belief in God and the Son of God frees the believer.
The Gospel readings are coming closer to the story of the Passion of Christ. The urgency of the message is increasing.

In the first reading from Daniel the three young men in a strange land are examples of courage and faith. They are steadfast in their belief in God over any person, king or not.

April 4 2006

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Reading I Num 21:4-9 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

PsalmPs 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer,and let my cry come to you.
Hide not your face from mein the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory,When the LORD has rebuilt Zionand appeared in his glory; When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come,and let his future creatures praise the LORD:“The LORD looked down from his holy height,from heaven he beheld the earth,To hear the groaning of the prisoners,to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Reading II
Rom 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Gospel Jn 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees:“I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said,“He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true,and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them,“When you lift up the Son of Man,then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
In the Gospel, the people fail to see the "I AM" part of Jesus which is the divinity, the Son of God. It is so easy to miss that part of seeing the face of Jesus in people. The holiness and divinity is shining out and the viewer is focused somewhere else and misses the moment. I had a joyful experience yesterday of speaking with a colleague in the late afternoon after most students, staff and faculty had left the building. We were discussing writing and reflection and critical thinking. I learned a great deal in our interchange that was a true give and take sharing of ideas that built. At the conclusion of our discussion we were speaking about the joy of discovery and both said "AHA" at the same time. It for me was a gift and a moment of seeing the divine, the Jesus in another person. Jesus is lifted up and is my salvation. I am grateful for my faith and the times in the day when I feel especially moved and touched by God.