Here are readings for Catholic Church Masses for Tuesday March 31 2020. I will offer my commentary on the Gospel at the end if anyone is interested. Also, I encourage comments on this blog post. So please feel free to share what you think below.
Reading 1, Numbers 21:4-9
4 They left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt round Edom. On the way the people lost patience.
5 They spoke against God and against Moses, 'Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? For there is neither food nor water here; we are sick of this meagre diet.'
6 At this, God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.
7 The people came and said to Moses, 'We have sinned by speaking against Yahweh and against you. Intercede for us with Yahweh to save us from these serpents.' Moses interceded for the people,
8 and Yahweh replied, 'Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.'
9 Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
2 Do not turn away your face from me when I am in trouble; bend down and listen to me, when I call, be quick to answer me!
3 For my days are vanishing like smoke, my bones burning like an oven;
16 when Yahweh builds Zion anew, he will be seen in his glory;
17 he will turn to hear the prayer of the destitute, and will not treat their prayer with scorn.
18 This shall be put on record for a future generation, and a people yet to be born shall praise God:
19 Yahweh has leaned down from the heights of his sanctuary, has looked down from heaven to earth,
20 to listen to the sighing of the captive, and set free those condemned to death,
21 to proclaim the name of Yahweh in Zion, his praise in Jerusalem;
Gospel, John 8:21-30
21 Again he said to them: I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.
22 So the Jews said to one another, 'Is he going to kill himself, that he says, "Where I am going, you cannot come?" '
23 Jesus went on: You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
25 So they said to him, 'Who are you?' Jesus answered: What I have told you from the outset.
26 About you I have much to say and much to judge; but the one who sent me is true, and what I declare to the world I have learnt from him.
27 They did not recognise that he was talking to them about the Father.
28 So Jesus said: When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of my own accord. What I say is what the Father has taught me;
29 he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.
30 As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.
My Commentary on these verses of the Gospel:
I am not a theologian or highly trained in the Bible. So I will offer what I can and hopefully you find some value in it.
The Jews who were followers of Christ were not quite catching on to what he has to say here. He makes several references to the fact that he comes from God and that he and God as united. He mentions that he does nothing on his own, and that he only does what is in accord with God the Father in heaven.
That's not much like us. We sometimes do God's will and some people at some point in their lives may do most things that God wills. But Jesus goes much further here when describing himself and indicates that he ALWAYS does the will of the Father. He can never be separated from the father and that their wills correspond perfectly.
This is yet another example of the Trinity in the Gospel. Jesus is clearly saying that he and God are equal.
The Jews in this passage do come across as rather clueless. "Is he going to commit suicide?" they ask. It always strikes me how clueless they in fact do seem. You would think after all Christ has done and revealed they would not believe her would just simply kill himself. Many don't even seem to know who he is. Jesus has a great deal of patience to persistently explain who is he over and over.
Jesus is very stark in this passage. He does not mince words or beat around the bush. He is very clear that those who do not follow him will perish. In parts of the Gospel Jesus is even more explicit in stating that those who do not follow him will go to Gehenna, a place of hellfire and torment. Gehenna in fact was a place in Jerusalem. There, garbage was continuously burnt. This gave a clear and vivid picture of the place Jesus was describing.
As we all struggle through this difficult time with coronavirus, aka Covid19, it is good to keep in mind that Jesus loves us more than we love ourselves and that he wills our ultimate good.
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