GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 31ST MARCH 2017
FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT
FIRST READING: Wisdom 2:1, 12-22
PSALM: Psalm 34:17-21, 23
GOSPEL: John 7:1-2, 10, 25
THEME: BE WARNED, ENEMIES ARE WATCHING!
It is difficult to know for certain what goes on in the minds of people when they see and hear us. However, one can be certain that it is not everyone who has good thoughts and plans concerning us. There are people who would hate you for no ‘reasonable’ reason. Often, such persons have unresolved issues in their own personal lives which fester into animosity towards others.
Jesus had both admirers and adversaries. In our Gospel text for today, we are told that his adversaries planned to kill him. In fact, they sought to translate their thoughts into action by trying to arrest Jesus but they were unable because “his hour had not yet come” (cf. Jn 7:30).
The text of the First Reading, perhaps, may well give an insight into why the adversaries of Jesus harboured heinous thoughts about him and planned to eliminate him. The wicked said to themselves, “Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing. He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. We see him as a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down; for his kind of life is not like other people’s, and his ways are quite different” (Wis 2:12-15).
When you stand for nothing, nothing will oppose you but when you stand for something, something will oppose you. In any given situation, when you choose to uphold a value, those who detest that value will detest you.
Our psalm for today consoles victims of evil, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all. He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken. Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (Psa 34:18-22)
Let us pray that evil thoughts may not see the light of day and that we ourselves may shun such thoughts for in seeking to destroy others, we ultimately destroy ourselves.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, deliver me from every evil plot and keep me safe in your sacred heart. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).