Daily Readings - Fri Apr 03 2020
Jeremiah
7O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.10I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him."11But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.12O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.13Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
John
31Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,32but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"33"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'?35If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came--and the Scripture cannot be broken--36what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?37Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.38But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."39Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.40Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed41and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true."42And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful testimonies of trust in God’s providence amidst adversity. The prophet Jeremiah, in the first reading, laments the persecution he endures for speaking God’s truth, yet he affirms that the Lord is his strength and that his persecutors will be confounded. Similarly, in the Gospel, Jesus faces the hostility of those who seek to stone Him for revealing His divine identity. Yet, Jesus remains steadfast, pointing to His works as evidence of His unity with the Father and withdrawing to a place of refuge when necessary.
Both readings highlight the tension between fidelity to God’s mission and the inevitable opposition that comes from a world resistant to truth. Jeremiah and Jesus remind us that standing for what is right often invites persecution, but it is precisely in these moments that our trust in God is tested and refined. The prophet’s cry to God and Jesus’ calm reliance on His Father’s presence in His works show us that true strength lies not in our own power, but in surrendering to God’s plan and allowing His justice to prevail.
In our daily lives, we may face smaller but no less significant challenges to our faith and values. These readings invite us to reflect on how we respond to such trials. Do we, like Jeremiah and Jesus, trust that God is with us even when the world seems against us? Let us ask for the grace to remain steadfast in our commitment to truth and to seek refuge in God’s presence, knowing that He will ultimately vindicate those who are faithful. In times of struggle, may we, like Jesus, withdraw to prayer and allow God’s works to speak for themselves, trusting that His light will shine through us even in darkness.