DENOUNCE HIM…

Jeremiah 20:10-13

10 For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived, then we can overcome him, and take our revenge on him.” 11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 

12 O LORD of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance upon them, for to thee have I committed my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. 

John 10:31-42

31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God? 

37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him; and they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING tells of Jeremiah’s release from incarceration brought about by his prophecies which the deputy high priest rejected because he found it troubling and unpalatable. Upon his release Jeremiah unrelentingly continues his prophecy against Pashhur warning him that he will not succeed in his efforts to bring about his fall, because he serves a righteous God who sees and knows the heart of man! 

THE GOSPEL OF St JOHN describes a tense moment that emanated from an earlier challenge by the Jews in the temple portico that Jesus must be direct and tell them that he is the Messiah. Inasmuch as our Lord tried to convince His interlocutors that he is doing the works in His Father’s name,they became more frustrated and started to collect stones which was a sign that they had heard enough evidence to execute Jesus for the crime of blasphemy! Jesus intimated that if indeed He is ‘not doing the works’ of [His] Father, then the opposing-party have a good reason to reject Him, however His miracle works of healing and restoration was conclusive evidence that He is the “Son of God!” 

Today’s reading should bring us to pause and reflect on the times when we outrightly denounced and rejected good works: opportunities to make peace with a spouse; a mom or dad or a child; family members; colleagues and neighbors, because their outreach to us was perhaps not sincere enough or good enough and thus fail to meet our personal standard of godliness and reparation.If indeed this is our outlook, then we are no different to our Lord’s interlocutors who continually collect stones to hurt their enemies. We are called to denounce Satan and all his evil works that seek to keeps us in bondage!

LET US PRAY: Psalms 18:2-7

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 

4 The cords of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me; 

5 the cords of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death confronted me. 

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 

catholicwitnessct@gmail.com    Henry R SYLVESTER              

Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast