Reflection for THURSDAY, 5th Week of Lent.

By

 

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Today's Gospel verses 

John 8:54-59 

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.

Though you do not know him, I know him.  If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” 

 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” 

 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

 

Today's Reflection 

As we read today's gospel and if we remember what were the gospel passages for this week, we may get a certain feeling of frustration.

Because it can be quite frustrating to hear the "Jews" (as the gospel called them) always getting into an argument with Jesus.

Yet, it must also be said that the "Jews" themselves were frustrated too because they just could not understand what Jesus was talking about.

There was this underlying frustration of not understanding as well as misunderstanding.

It was this frustration that led them to throw stones at Jesus, and the frustration boiled over to become a hatred that eventually made them nail Jesus to the cross.

As we come to the 5th week of Lent, we too might be having some feelings of frustration.

We might have felt that Lent had passed too quickly, that we have not done anything spiritually worthy till now, and that we do not have any "feeling" for Lent.

So we may be frustrated and disappointed with ourselves for having a fruitless Lent and that we have not anything much for God.

Yet let us take heart in the 1st reading. It is not so much what we can do for God but rather what God has done for us.

Through Abraham, God has made a Covenant with us in perpetuity and Jesus is the expression of this covenant.

Jesus is the "I AM". And no matter what we have not done, God will still be our God and we will still be His people. Let us take consolation in that and keep faithful to Jesus for the rest of Lent.

GOD BLESS YOU 

Good morning. Have a nice safe day.