Wednesday April 6, 2022

Wednesday of 5th Week in Lent 

                                                                                            The Truth Will Set You Free — Believe Like Abraham                                                                                                   

Introduction

Persons who trust in God fight enslavement to sin. In the face of abuse of authority, persecution or coercion of any kind, even of tradition or of the law, they retain their inner freedom. When they hear and keep God’s Word, they make a decision for freedom. The liberating word of Christ sets us free and makes us sons and daughters. God’s children are born to be free. The three young men at the king’s court were willing to lay down their lives for their faith. Like the faith of Abraham, our faith in Jesus should be deep and unconditional.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you call us to be free people.
Help us to give you always
a response of freedom.
Set free by Christ’s
liberating word and death,
may we never again
shackle ourselves with self-made chains,
of selfish sin and false attachments.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

 

Reading: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95

King Nebuchadnezzar said:
“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 who 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 that you set up.”

King 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.

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 who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.”

 

Responsorial Psalm: Dn3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

(52b) Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!
“Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R.  Glory and praise for ever!

“Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R.  Glory and praise for ever!

“Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim;
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”
R.  Glory and praise for ever!

“Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever.”
R. Glory and praise for ever!

 

Verse before the Gospel: Lk 8:15

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.

 

Gospel: Jn 8:31-42

Jesus 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 the 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 were not born of fornication.
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.”

 

Intercessions

For those who are persecuted for their faith, that they may stand firm, even in torture, we pray:

For all who claim to be descendants of Abraham, Jews, Christians, Moslems, that each in one’s own way may have deep trust in God, we pray:

For people who have to make hard decisions in life, that they may follow their conscience in doing what is truthful, right and good, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God,
your Son Jesus could not be deprived
of his inner freedom
even when he died on a cross.
Give us the courage of your Son,
that our loyalty to the truth,
to you and to your values,
may always be strong enough
to make us break out of our self-made prisons,
our fears, complexes and excuses.
Accept this our sacrifice
and let it make us free with the freedom
brought us by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord God,
we are your sons and daughters
reborn in Christ to be free.
Help us to set our brothers and sisters free
from any sinful slavery
that oppresses or exploits them.
Give us the courage to speak out
and to do all we can
to bring justice and human dignity to all
in the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

May God give us the grace to keep believing in the truth of the gospel, that this truth may make us always free and joyful people. May almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

The Truth

We are closing in on the week of the Passion and across these days, John presents the conflict between Jesus and his opponents as escalating. That Jesus is from ‘above’ who does not fit into the schemes of ‘below’ is further intensified by the discourse on the Truth. Having learned the Truth from the Father, Jesus becomes the Truth that offers itself to the world to embrace so that the world would experience authentic freedom. But the world does not want the Truth. “What is Truth?” Pilate asks; and Jesus remains silent: If one cannot see, recognize, and claim the Truth that stands right in front in flesh and blood, what’s the point of more verbal noise? We do not want to do so and pull up veils over our eyes, because accepting the Truth would demand a conversion of hearts and change of ways. So we prefer to continue our lives of lies and partial truths, so convenient, yet so false!

Reflection taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF