THE WORKS

“If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me!” – John 10:37

I’ve seen miracles greater than the dancing sun, the blind regaining sight and the dead rising to life. The greatest miracles for me are changed lives!

Behold my miracle list: A drug addict transformed into a person spiritually “high” in the Lord. A person who sold his soul to the devil transformed into an evangelist. A bloodthirsty man transformed into a godly peacemaker. A near-zombie, passive bum of a man transformed into an enthusiastic Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. A suicidal transformed into an all-out servant leader of a big community. A homosexual transformed into a living spiritual refuge for people struggling with same-sex-attraction. A gambler transformed into an all-out fulltime missionary of the Pearl of Great Price.

You may ask, how did these miracles come to be? Because of one hard-hitting influence. One life-changing witnessing. One story of transformation.

Because your personal history is His Story.

You were changed by One.

Now, go into the whole world and change another one. Obet Cabrillas (kpreacherobet@gmail.com)

Reflection: Are you swayed by “worldly” history? Be His Story! Witness about God with your very own life!

Lord, let my life be a testament to Your amazing grace.

St. Nicholas Owen, pray for us.

1^ST READING

Jeremiah is very frank about his experience of his vocation. There are aspects of it that he hates, but there are others that bring great satisfaction. This will be our experience if we are honest with ourselves. We will experience the ups and downs of faith; we will enjoy the good times and pray for the hard ones to end as soon as possible.

Jeremiah 20:10-13

10 I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.” 11 But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. 12 O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. 13 Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!

P S A L M

Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7

R: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.

1 [2] I love you, O Lord, my strength, 2 [3] O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. (R) My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! 3 [4] Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R) 4 [5] The breakers of death surged round about me, the destroying floods overwhelmed me; 5 [6] the cords of the netherworld enmeshed me, the snares of death overtook me. (R) 6 [7] In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God; from his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. (R)

I like to meditate on the part that tells us Jesus “eluded them.” It seems to indicate to me that there is a higher power at work in Jesus’ life that is going to ensure that His mission is completed as planned. The will of God is the salvation of mankind. What a blessing it is that Jesus was able to accomplish such a worthy end.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

31 The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, I said, ‘You are gods’? 35 If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be set aside, 36 can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; 38 but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their power. 40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. 41 Many came to him and said, “John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many there began to believe in him.

think: The will of God is the salvation of mankind.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Genesis 25-27

It seems part of our human condition to automatically seek revenge against those who have wronged us. This should not be the case, but sin has somehow perverted the way we relate with one another such that we assume the worst of each other and also seek to get back at those who harm us. The biblical witness is that we should leave any sense of revenge, often spoken of in terms of vengeance, to the Lord. That is, the authors of the various Scriptural texts were well aware of the tendency of human nature to take matters of vengeance into their own hands.

Jeremiah is a prophet who suffered a lot at the hands of the authorities. In this he was prescient, indicating this as one reason for his not wanting to take up the calling of a prophet. Yet, he obeyed God’s call, and suffering was never far from him. Jeremiah clearly would like to take revenge upon some, if not all, of his adversaries but he specifically states here that he is going to leave that matter in the Lord’s hands. He also refuses to give in to the power of his adversaries, believing firmly that the Lord will eventually cause the poor and powerless to triumph.

Jeremiah’s example is a very important one to reflect on, given how easy it is to take revenge on someone for what they have done to us. The thing with revenge is that it never solves any problems. It just exacerbates them by adding wrong to wrong and violence to violence. It is easy to see how this sort of response will result in a never-ending cycle of wrongs.

It is the example of Jesus’ life that shows us the way out of the problem. The only way to cut the cycle of violence is to forgive and move on. Resentment, revenge, ill will and so on will never come to an end. It is only forgiveness that ends it all. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you tend to either seek revenge or minister forgiveness to those who sin against you? How can you grow in your capacity for the latter?

Holy Spirit, teach me the noble path of forgiveness and help me to be an ambassador for it every day of my life.