5th Week of Lent
29th March 2023 (Wednesday) Readings and Reflection
Reading of the Day
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First Reading: Daniel 3:14-20, 24/91-25/92, 28/95
In those days: Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if f you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counsellors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king." He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 (R. 52b)
R/. You are to be praised and highly exalted forever!
Gospel : John 8:31-42
At that time: Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practises sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house for ever; the son remains for ever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father." They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father-even God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Trust during the test!
Indicative: Tests and trials are bound to happen. We will be pressed by hardships and pressured to escape them and thus defect from truth and commitment. What should be our response?{alertSuccess}
1. Freedom is everyone’s craving and search. In itself, it is not wrong. But the problem is often it is a false freedom. It is a false freedom because it is against truth. it shelters itself in sin. It is false also because its effects are slavery and ruin
2. Ironically, freedom thus becomes slavery to sin. Today many mistake freedom with the licence for every pleasure and gratification. Accordingly, the licence to do whatever I like and prefer has become the criterion for freedom. And the criterion to decide good is temporary gratification and pleasure
3. In this process and pursuit of false freedom with these wrong criteria, the whole spirit of morality and spirituality is despised and even discarded. It is in this context, the word of God “restores” the true sense of freedom
4. In the light of the three young men, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who freely choose death over disloyalty to the true God, we are taught that true freedom is a choice in fidelity to what is right
5. Even though they were “free” to denounce and renounce their true God, even though they were under the fear of death, still they persevered in their true faith. They preferred to suffer physical death but gain eternal life. They preferred to bear temporal punishment but receive an imperishable reward
6. Jesus once again clarifies what true freedom is and the way to attain and experience it. “Know the truth and then you will be true”. This implies two aspects: one, know and believe the Son and abide in his word and become his disciples
7. Secondly, know also the truth about ourselves. The truth is that we are the children of God and not Satan. We cannot be slaves to sin
Imperative: Freedom cannot be divorced from truth. To be free is to be true and truthful. And to be truthful is to be faithful and authentic{alertSuccess}