Thursday March 24, 2022

Thursday of 3rd Week in Lent       

Listening to God’s Word       

                                   

Introduction

“Listen to my voice,” says God through his prophet Jeremiah, and then, he complains that God’s people fails to listen, that they listen to themselves and follow their own ways. Their deeds do not speak the language of God. They do not follow God.

In the Gospel, Jesus cures the man who was mute. Worse than anyone who is deaf and mute and blind, are those who do not want to hear and see, or to speak with sincerity. They do not follow Jesus. Their hearts are divided.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord, our God,
you ask of us not so much
that we observe certain practices,
but that our hearts are turned to you.
God, may we do your will in everything,
loyally and generously,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who did your will because he loved you
and who lives therefore with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

 

1st Reading – Jeremiah 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD:
This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

(8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

Verse Before The Gospel – Joel 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
for I am gracious and merciful.

 

Gospel – Luke 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

 If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe.But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armour on which he relied and distributes the spoils.  Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

 

Intentions

–          That we may listen to the voice of our conscience, not only when it warns us against evil, but also when it prompts us to do good, we pray:

–          That when temptation comes, we follow Jesus our Lord, who overcame temptations for us, we pray:

–          That those who are preparing for baptism may learn how the Gospel will bring them joy and freedom, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
you send your Son among us
to be our living Word.
May we learn from him,
that he did your will in everything
because he knew that this was your way
to reveal your saving love to all.
May we be on his side
and do your will in all things
as a living offering to you,
now and for ever.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord, our God,
we are perhaps so busy
with our own plans for the future
and for a world we want to build up,
that we forget your plans for a new world.
God, may we carry out your plans
by your own rules;
may we listen to your Word, Jesus Christ,
and forget our own little plans,
that we may build up a kingdom
that stands, for ever and ever.

 

Blessing

“Obey my voice and I will be your God, and you shall be my people,” said the prophet. We thank God that God has made us his people. We do our best to live as the people God loves, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Finger of God

“Finger” is a polysemous symbol. It can be a symbol of accusation, when someone points a finger at me. When placed over the lips, it can silence me against my will. It can give me orders that may or may not be pleasing to me. Finger can also mean someone pointing to me in delight, reaching out to me to hug and carry me in their arms or on their shoulders. It can show me the way forward. A little child can hold on to the finger of her mom or dad and walk securely. Finger can wipe away the tears of my eyes. When Jesus referred to the “finger of God” it could only mean one thing: the maternal-paternal finger of God that seeks to touch, heal, redeem, protect; the finger that truly wipes away every tear from our eyes (cf. Rev. 21.4). Our call is to be this finger of God.

Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF