“You know nothing, nor
do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die
instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” -John 11:49-50
RUMORS
Whether in companies or in churches, money-related issues affect your credibility.
Rick was the subject of an administrative investigation for allegedly
pocketing funds. He realized he had made minor computation errors for
their field work and immediately wrote an apology. After correcting the
computation, he turned over the lacking amount.
Sally started using these facts and twisted them into rumors. Their colleagues believed her.
Rick never knew why his “friends” started changing. But he remained
kind and hardworking. He knew he had made an honest mistake but he
didn’t have to defend himself to everyone.
A month later, the investigation ended. Sally was fired. It turned out
that the receipts she gave Rick to liquidate were falsified. She
apparently spread rumors to shift the focus from her to Rick because she
needed the money for her son’s tuition.
Rick can be anyone of us. People can use facts, twist them and spread
ugly rumors. But keep doing what’s loving and right anyway. Because in
the end, God will redeem us even from those whom we think are more
powerful than us. Carlo Lorenzo
1ST READING
This
prophecy of Ezekiel reminds the people both of their history and the
many blessings that God gave them as He formed them into a nation
faithful to Him, and of the future when there will be restoration — a
return to the time of blessings and grace. The difficult thing to know
is how the future will look. Will it be exactly the same as the past?
Probably not, and this is the mistake that many make. The principles and
spirit of a true community of disciples is always the same, but its
shape and expression will differ according to time, place and culture.
Ezekiel 37:21-28
21 Tell
them: Thus speaks the Lord God: I will take the children of Israel from
among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all
sides to bring them back to their land. 22 I
will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel,
and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be
two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. 23 No
longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their
abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all
their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people
and I may be their God. 24 My
servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one
shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully
observe my decrees. 25 They
shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where
their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their
children, and their children’s children, with my servant David their
prince forever. 26 I
will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting
covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among
them forever. 27 My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the Lord, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
P S A L M
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13
R: The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
10 Hear
the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a
shepherd his flock. (R) 11 The Lord shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror. 12 Shouting,
they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the
Lord’s blessings: the grain, the wine, and the oil, the sheep and the
oxen. (R) 13 Then
the virgins shall make merry and dance, and young men and old as well. I
will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them
after their sorrows. (R)
GOSPEL
Caiaphas
argues that, for the good of the people, Jesus should die lest He lead
too many people astray from what the majority considered to be the true
faith. From the self-important point of view from which he spoke, this
is true. However, when you are wrong, as Caiaphas is here, the
consequences are not only sinful but can be disastrous for the things
you hold most dear. Nicodemus’s argument of letting Jesus be is far more
just and sensible. If Jesus was a fake, then what He began will
eventually disappear. Jesus was the real thing as we see over 2,000
years later.
John 11:45-56
45 Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So
the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, 50 nor
do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die
instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” 51 He
did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that
year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to kill him. 54 So
Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for
the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he
remained with his disciples. 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves. 56 They
looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple
area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
REFLECTION
JESUS: A DIVIDING LINE
The
Passion of Jesus, which we are set to commemorate for a whole week
beginning this evening, has a rich significance for everyone. Of course,
in the great plan of heaven, as the prophets have expressed, Jesus’
sacrifice and death is meant to be a saving reality — a vicarious death —
for all peoples to be reconciled as children of God.
Truly God and truly man, Jesus offers Himself as the bridge builder
between God and all humanity. In fact, years later, the Apostle Paul
declares: “But now in Christ Jesus you, who once were far away, have
been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our
peace... and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of
hostilities” (Ephesians 2:13-14).
For Caiaphas and the Jewish leaders who were so conscious about their
status, the death of Jesus was something pragmatic in accordance with
their selfish minds. The high priest stated: “If we let him... everyone
will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both
our place and our nation.” Knowing well the hearts and minds of these
leaders, we know that they were aching to have Jesus arrested and
eliminated — not so much for the nation though, but for their own sakes
and positions.
Events always are double-sided: God’s meaning and the human meaning;
God’s reasons and human motivations. Sometimes they coincide, but many
times they differ. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP
"Lord, I am sorry for the many times I became too selfish and pushed my own agenda. Grant me the grace of purity of heart."
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