March 15, 2024 Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Daily Readings: Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22, John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
In today's First Reading, the ungodly people make a filthy plot against the righteous person and kill him. This is because he opposes their evil ways. He is inconvenient to their lifestyle, as he points out their sins and all their wrongdoings. His very sight is burdensome to these people. Over and above that, he calls himself a child of God and believes that God will deliver him from the hands of his adversaries. Therefore, they decide to test him, insult and torture him. They want to test his patience and gentleness. Thus we realize the tension between godly and ungodly beings, between light and darkness. All we have to realize is that God always triumphs!
Jesus, the righteous person, is the focus of the Gospel Reading of today, as the Jews are looking for an opportunity to kill him. It is time for the Jewish festival of Booths or Tabernacles. They expect Jesus to come to Jerusalem for the feast, and that will give them an occasion to get rid of him. Jesus openly appears in the temple and begins to teach them about the intimate relationship that exists between him and his Father. He acknowledges openly that he has come to do God’s will.
The Jews are not able to lay their hands on Jesus because the time has not yet come to die. It is abundantly clear from this text that Jesus knows the time of his ministry as well as the time to suffer, die, and rise again. Because everything happens according to God's will. The one who submits himself or herself to the will of God has nothing to regret or be anxious about.
Call to Action for Catholic Living: If we want to live a life of righteousness, then we will have to be prophetic, knowing fully well the consequences of speaking the truth. In the context in which we live today, prophetic voices need to become the voices of the voiceless. Only those who incorporate themselves into God's plan will be able to live up to that challenge.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
