DAILY GOSPEL

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Wednesday of the Fifth week of Lent

Today the Church celebrates : St Maximilian

See commentary below or click here
Saint John Chrysostom : Do as Abraham did

Book of Daniel 3,14-20.91-92.95.

King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up? Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God that can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us! But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up." Nebuchadnezzar's face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the white-hot furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" "Assuredly, O king," they answered. "But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God." Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8,31-42.

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father." They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!" (So) they said to him, "We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), Bishop of Antioch, then of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
36th Homily on Genesis; PG 53,339

Do as Abraham did

Looking wholly to God's promise and setting aside all human ways of looking at things, knowing God to be capable of accomplishments beyond nature to achieve, Abraham put his trust in the words addressed to him, let no shadow of doubt cross his mind and did not waver as to the meaning he should give God's words. For it is in the nature of faith to put its trust in the power of the one who promises… God had promised Abraham that a posterity without number would be born of him. This promise exceeded the possibilities of nature and all purely human forms of perception and that is why his faith towards God "was credited him as righteousness" (Gn 15,6; Gal 3,6).

Well then, if we are on the watch, yet more wonderful promises have been made to us and we will be satisfied to an even greater extent than human thought can dream. And for this, we have only to put our trust in the power of him who has made these promises to us so as to merit the righteousness that comes from faith and obtain the promised reward. For all those good things we are hoping for far exceed all human conception and thought, so exceedingly wonderful is what we have been promised!

Indeed, these promises do not concern only the present, the flourishing of our lives and the enjoyment of visible goods, but they are even more about the time when we have quitted this earth, when our bodies have become subject to corruption, when our remains have been reduced to dust. God promises us that he will then raise them up and establish them in glorious splendour, "for this which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility," Saint Paul assures us (1Cor 15,53). More than this, after the resurrection of our bodies, we have received the promise of enjoying the Kingdom and of obtaining through endless ages, in the company of the saints, those ineffable goods that "eye has not seen and ear has not heard and that have not entered the human heart" (1Cor 2,9). Do you grasp the superabundance of the promises? Do you grasp the greatness of these gifts?

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