Noong
panahong iyon, marami sa mga Judiong dumalaw kay Maria ang nakakita sa ginawa
ni Hesus, at nanalig sa kaniya. Ngunit ang ilan sa kanila’y pumunta sa mga
Pariseo at ibinalita ang ginawa ni Hesus. Kaya’t tinipon ng mga punong
saserdote at ng mga Pariseo ang mga kagawad ng Sanedrin.
“Ano ang
gagawin natin?” wika nila. “Gumagawa ng maraming kababalaghan ang taong ito.
Kung siya’y pababayaan natin, mananampalataya sa kanya ang lahat. Paririto ang
mga Romano at wawasakin ang Templo at ang ating bansa.” Ngunit isa sa kanila, si Caifas, ang
pinakapunong saserdote noon ay nagsabi ng ganito: “Ano ba kayo? Hindi ba ninyo
naiisip na mas mabuti para sa atin na isang tao lamang ang mamatay alang-alang
sa bayan, sa halip na mapahamak ang buong bansa?”
Sinabi niya
ito hindi sa ganang kanyang sarili lamang. Bilang pinakapunong saserdote ng
panahong iyon, hinulaan niyang mamamatay si Hesus dahil sa bansa – at hindi
dahil sa bansang iyon lamang, kundi upang tipunin ang nagkawatak-watak na mga
anak ng Diyos. Mula noon, binalangkas na nila kung paano ipapapatay si Hesus,
kaya’t hindi na siya hayagang naglakad sa Judea. Sa halip, siya’y nagpunta sa
Efraim, isang bayang malapit sa ilang. At doon siya nanirahang kasama ng
kanyang mga alagad.
Nalalapit na
ang Pista ng Paskuwa. Maraming taga-lalawigang pumunta sa Jerusalem bago
mag-Paskuwa upang isagawa ang paglilinis ayon sa Kautusan. Hindi nila nakita si
Hesus sa templo, kaya’t nagtanungan sila,”Ano sa akala ninyo? Paririto kaya sa
pista o hindi?” Ipinag-utos ng mga punong saserdote at ng mga Pariseo na ituro
ng sinumang nakaaalam kung nasaan si Hesus upang siya’y maipadakip nila.
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For
which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered
him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You,
a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not
written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of
God came, and Scripture cannot be set aside, 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'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; 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." Then they tried again to arrest him; but he escaped from their
power.
He went back across the Jordan to the
place where John first baptized, and there he remained. Many came to him
and said, "John performed no sign, but everything John said about this man
was true." And many there began to believe in him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Raffy was a popular figure in their parish
church, he was being consulted every time there was problems and decisions to
be made. Then a new figure in the parish came along a humble man whose wisdom
was very profound. Suddenly the people in the parish gravitated to this humble
and wisdom filled man. Therefore Raffy planned to bring down this humble man so
that he could once again be the main man in their parish.
The hatred of the Jews against Jesus was
not only caused by His pronouncement that He and God are one and the same.
Their hatred against Jesus was also caused by their envy with Jesus popularity
with the people most especially with the ordinary people. The Jews were slowly
losing grip of their authority because of Jesus. Therefore they must plot to
kill Him at all cost.
There would also be people who will come
along our way who are much better than us. Who are more humble than us (If at
all we are humble!). Let us not envy them, let us not plot any untoward against
them let us instead be happy for them. To rejoice with somebody who is taking
the limelight from us is hard to do. But this is not impossible to do if we
really are true followers of Jesus.
The mistake of the Pharisees and scribes
during the time of Jesus is they allowed envy and pride to control them. By
doing so, they in the process opened themselves up to the control of Satan. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say
to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him,
“Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet
you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’
Are you greater than our father Abraham,
who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus
answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father
who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I
know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a
liar.
But I do know him and I keep his word.
Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the
Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen
Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham
came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and
went out of the temple area.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What does Jesus gives us? Jesus gives us
eternal life, we believe that if we have faith in Jesus we will never die. Yes
we literally die through our physical death but after that we believe that we
will be with Jesus in heaven to live eternally.
We primarily believe and love Jesus
because we want to be with Him in heaven someday. But there are still many who
do not believe in Jesus, yes they know Jesus but they don’t believe in
Jesus. Same as with the Jews in our gospel who did not believe Jesus when
He told them that He already had seen Abraham and yet they didn’t believe Him
they even had the temerity to throw stone at Him (John 8:57-59).
So what should we do to those who know
Jesus but do not believe or they believe in Jesus but their belief is in name
only? We must therefore bring them closer to Jesus and to our faith. For
example, this coming Holy Week, let us encourage them to attend the many
liturgical celebrations in our respective parishes. For this surely will
strengthen their union with Jesus and the church that He Himself founded thru
Peter (Matthew 16:18).
Liturgical celebration such as the Way of
the Cross, the Chrism Mass, The institution of the Eucharist in the afternoon,
the Veneration of the Holy Cross during good Friday and the Easter Vigil Mass
during black Saturday. Let us not keep to ourselves our faith and love for
Jesus let us share and live it as well. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How can we become true followers of Jesus?
It is only through our adherence to Jesus
teachings that we would become His true followers there is no other way. How
about those who regularly give large sum of money to the church or those who
serve in the church but they disobey Jesus’ teachings? Are they not true
follower? They are not! No matter how big the amount that they regularly give
to the church and no matter who they are in the organizational hierarchy of the
church.
It’s not impossible to become faithful to
Jesus for everyone of us can aspire to become one. But we often times choose
not to be faithful because we allow ourselves to be seduced by the devil. The
devil who is disguised in many worldly forms whose only mission is to snatch us
away from Jesus.
Remember Judas Iscariot? He allowed
himself to be seduced by the devil for he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of
silver (Matthew 26:15). What was the effect of that betrayal on Judas?
Endless mental torture and guilt of conscience that eventually led him to end
his life (Matthew 27:3-5). – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going
away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going
you cannot come. So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’? He said to them, “You
belong to what is below, I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world but I do not
belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins. So they said to
him, “Who are you? Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I
have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true, and what
I heard from him I tell the world. They did not realize that he was speaking to
them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of
Man then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own but I say
only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left
me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him. Because he spoke this
way, many came to believe in him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What prevents us to be close friends with
Jesus? It’s our sinfulness and unfaithfulness to Him. Whenever we sin we put a
barrier that divides us from Jesus the more we sin the more barriers that we
create that separates us from Jesus.
But we also know that this separation is
not permanent because through our humble submission to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation we allow Jesus to reach out to us as we reach out to Him also.
This is what separates us from the many Pharisees of Jesus time: We humbly
submit to the Lord.
By their arrogance and unbelief the
Pharisees created a permanent barrier between them and Jesus. This is one of
the reasons why Jesus told them (Pharisees), where I am going you cannot come.
What then is the key element for us to be able to go eventually where Jesus is?
It’s our humility and faith in Jesus.
We read in the first part of the gospel
that Jesus is somewhat distant and aloft. Yes, in His humanity Jesus was
perhaps exasperated already with the Pharisees. Who would not be? They always
contradict Him, they always find fault in Him and they were full of jealousy
and unbelief.
Nevertheless, Jesus loved them dearly also
the same love that He gave to His
followers and to all of humanity. Jesus did not sacrifice His life on the cross
for those who only believe Him. He died on the cross for all of us believers,
unbelievers and sinners.
If you think that because of your
sinfulness and unbelief you’re already hopeless and out of the loop of the love
of the Lord. Think again because you’re not! You still have hope, you’re still
dearly loved by Jesus who died for you on the cross. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But
early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the
people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes
and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her
stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the
very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to
stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they
could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write
on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he
straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the
ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and
said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied,
“No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on
do not sin any more.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a woman who was
being suspected by her husband of carrying an adulterous affair. She was repeatedly
being counseled by her husband to stop it if she was doing it. But she would
always strongly deny it until the time came that she was caught by her husband.
She asked forgiveness and she was forgiven subject to a few conditions which
she complied.
Are you quick to forgive or you don’t
easily forgive? When you are quick to forgive you immediately free yourself
from any disastrous situation that could happen caused by unforgiveness. You
also free yourself from many forms of negative emotions caused by
unforgiveness.
When the woman in our gospel was caught in
the act of adultery, she was immediately condemned by the Pharisees and
scribes. Their hearts were full of unforgiveness and hatred. Perhaps, they
right away want to lay their punishing hands upon the adulterous woman.
But Jesus was there to save the woman from that
perilous predicament. Jesus said this to those who were condemning the
adulterous woman: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to
throw a stone at her (John 8:7)."
After hearing this wisdom filled words
from Jesus the Pharisees and scribes all walked away. Why? Because they were
all sinners as well. Then Jesus said something very profound to the
woman: “I will not condemn you, go and do not sin anymore (John 8:11).
What does this gospel about the adulterous
woman teach us? It teaches us not to judge and condemn for we are all sinners.
It teaches us to be forgiving because our God is a forgiving God. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
Noong
panahong iyon, si Hesus ay pumunta sa Bundok ng mga Olibo. Kinaumagaha’y
nagbalik siya sa templo. Lumapit sa kanya ang lahat, kaya’t umupo siya at
sila’y tinuruan. Noo’y dinala sa kanya ng mga eskriba at ng mga Pariseo ang
isang babaing nahuli sa pakikiapid. Pinatayo ito sa harapan nila, at sinabi kay
Hesus, “Guro, ang babaing ito’y nahuli sa pakikiapid. Ayon sa Kautusan ni
Moises, dapat batuhinhanggang sa mamatay ang mga gaya niya.
Ano ang
masasabi mo?” Itinanong nila ito upang subukin siya, nang may maisumbong sila
laban sa kanya. Ngunit yumuko si Hesus at sumulat sa lupa sa pamamagitan ng
daliri. Ayaw nilang tigilan nang katatanong si Hesus, kaya’t sila’y tiningnan
niya at sinabi ang ganito, “Sinuman sa inyo na walang kasalanan ang siyang
maunang bumato sa kanya.” At muli siyang yumuko at sumulat sa lupa.
Nang marinig
nila ito, sila’y isa-isang umalis, simula sa pinakamatanda. Walang naiwan kundi
si Hesus at ang babaing naroon pa rin sa harapan niya. Tiningnan siya ni Hesus
at tinanong: “Nasaan sila? Wala bang nagparusa sa iyo?” “Wala po, Ginoo,” sagot
ng babae. Sinabi ni Hesus: “Hindi rin kita parurusahan. Humayo ka, at huwag
nang magkasala.”
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? The siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus were friends with Jesus they have a personal relationship with the Lord. Jesus loves the three of them dearly.
When Jesus was informed by Martha and Mary than their brother Lazarus was sick the Lord went there. Even if He knew that Lazarus had died already the Lord nevertheless went to the siblings place notwithstanding the developing danger to his life. Why? Because Martha, Mary and Lazarus were best friends with Jesus.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, He showed us that there is life and resurrection for as long as we believe in Him. There is hope for a new life even if we die but to have this new life we should not only know Jesus. We must also die from our sinfulness and we should be friends with Him as well.
Jesus went to the tomb of his friend Lazarus for only one purpose and that is to bring His friend back to life again. Why? This is for the reason that Jesus wanted them to believe and have faith in Him. Jesus wanted them to know that nothing is impossible for Him, that even death He can mightily defeat.
Jesus’ raising of Lazarus opens our minds to the reality that there’s a new life after our mortal death provided that we are friends with Jesus and provided that we are willing to accept Him as our Lord and savior.
Are you now friends with Jesus and is He already your Lord and Savior? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Mabuting Balita: Juan Juan 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
Noong panahong iyon: Nagpasabi kay Hesus ang mga kapatid na babae ni Lazaro, “Panginoon, ang kaibigan mong minamahal ay may sakit.” Ngunit nang marinig ito ni Hesus ay sinabi niya, “Hindi magwawakas sa kamatayan ang sakit na ito. Nangyari ito upang maparangalan ang Diyos at sa pamamagitan nito’y maparangalan ang Anak ng Diyos.”
Mahal ni Hesus ang magkakapatid na Marta, Maria at Lazaro. Gayunma’y pinaraan pa niya ang dalawang araw matapos mabalitaang may sakit si Lazaro bago sinabi sa kanyang mga alagad, “Magbalik tayo sa Judea.” Pagdating ni Hesus, nalaman niyang apat na araw nang nakalibing si Lazaro. Nang marinig ni Marta na dumarating si Hesus, sinalubong niya ito; ngunit si Maria’y naiwan sa bahay.
Sinabi ni Marta, “Panginoon, kung kayo po’y narito, hindi sana namatay ang aking kapatid. Ngunit nalalaman kong kahit ngayo’y ibibigay sa iyo ng Diyos ang anumang hingin ninyo sa kanya.” “Muling mabubuhay ang iyong kapatid,” wika ni Hesus. Sumagot si Marta, “Nalalaman ko pong siya’y mabubuhay uli sa huling araw, sa muling pagkabuhay.”
Sinabi naman ni Hesus, “Ako ang muling pagkabuhay at ang buhay. Ang nananalig sa akin, kahit mamatay ay muling mabubuhay, at sinumang nabubuhay at nananalig sa akin, kahit mamatay ay mabubuhay kailanman. Pinaniniwalaan mo ba ito?” “Opo, Panginoon!” sagot niya. “Nananalig ako sa inyo. Kayo po ang Anak ng Diyos, ang Mesiyas na inaasahang paparito sa sanlibutan.”
Si Hesus ay napahimutok. “Saan ninyo siya inilibing?” tanong niya. Sumagot sila, “Panginoon, halikayo at tingnan ninyo.” Tumangis si Hesus; kaya’t sinabi ng mga Judio, “Talagang mahal na mahal niya si Lazaro!” Ngunit sinabi ng ilan, “Nakapagpadilat ng bulag ang taong ito. Bakit hindi niya nahadlangan ang pagkamatay ni Lazaro?”
Muling napahimutok si Hesus pagdating sa libingan. Ito’y yungib na natatakpan ng isang bato “Alisin ninyo ang bato,” sabi ni Hesus. Sumagot si Marta, “Panginoon, nangangamoy na po siya ngayon; apat na araw na siyang patay. Sinabi ni Hesus, “Hindi ba sinabi ko sa inyo na kung mananalig ka sa akin ay makikita mo kung gaano kadakila ang Diyos?”
At inalis nila ang bato. Tumingala si Hesus at ang wika, “Ama, nagpapasalamat ako sa iyo, sapagkat dininig mo ako. Alam kong lagi mo akong dinirinig. Ngunit sinabi ko ito dahil sa mga taong nasa paligid ko, upang maniwala silang ikaw ang nagsugo sa akin.” Pagkasabi nito, sumigaw siya, “Lazaro, lumabas ka!” Lumabas nga si Lazaro; napupuluputan ng kayong panlibing ang kanyang mga kamay at paa, at nababalot ng panyo ang kanyang mukha. Sinabi ni Hesus sa kanila, “Kalagan ninyo siya, at nang makalaya.”
Marami sa mga Judiong dumalaw kay Maria ang nakakita sa ginawa ni Hesus at nanalig sa kanya.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he
said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled
at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her “Do not be
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and
will be called Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give him the throne
of David his father and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever and of his
Kingdom there will be no end.
But Mary said to the angel “How can this be
since I have no relations with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, “The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren for nothing will be
impossible for God. Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it
be done to me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
What are you going to do if you receive a
shocking announcement? Perhaps the first that would come to your mind is to
pray and ask for guidance and strength from God.
When Mary received the annunciation from
angel Gabriel that she would be pregnant with the baby Jesus. She might have
been in shock for a moment, then right after she perhaps prayed to God for
guidance and strength. After which she was ok and with faith she accepted the
will of the Lord for her.
The pregnancy of the Blessed Virgin Mary
conveys to us that nothing is impossible for God. That God can do miracles as
He did to Mary. It conveys to us that our God is a God of possibilities,
blessings and miracles. Our God can make things happen for us for as long as we
have faith and for as long as we have unwavering belief in Him.
If you somehow feel weariness in your
journey in this world. Do not lose heart, continue to journey with God,
continue to pray, continue to work hard for whatever aspiration that you have
in your heart and continue to have faith and hope. For the Lord will
never abandon those who continue to trust Him. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did
not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the
Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to
the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.
Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
“Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and
they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the
Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know
where he is from.”
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as
he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did
not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I
know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
How courageous are you in your desire to
spread your faith?
In the gospel for today, even if there was
a threat to His life Jesus still secretly went to Judea to attend the Feast of
the Tabernacle. He courageously spoke in the temple area at the risk of His
life. Where does His courage comes from? It originates from His deep passion
for His mission and His oneness with God.
Let us also aspire to have the same
passion and oneness with God. So that we would also have the courage to express
what we want to say on how God has made a big difference in our life. So that
we would be able to face and overcome whatever problems and trials that may
come our way.
A good way to start is to have a regular
time for God. Through our daily readings of his words in the bible, through our
presence at Holy Mass and through our prayers.
If we do these acts of worship and piety
we surely would develop a deep friendship and oneness with Jesus. And the
result is we will have the courage to live His teachings, to share it and even
preach it.
A faithful follower should live and preach
the teachings of Jesus. If he/she can't preach it because not everyone has the
gift of preaching he/she must live it. For this is one of the many marks of a
faithful follower of Jesus.
What kind of follower are you? Are you a follower in name only or a follower in name and in deed? – Marino
J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on
my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on
my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You
sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human
testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp, and for
a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater
than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that
I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the
Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor
seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do
not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you
think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But
you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise; moreover, I
know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept
him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not
seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before
the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your
hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he
wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my
words?”
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Reflection:
How are you as a witness for Jesus? Do you
live and share His teachings? A good witness for Jesus is someone who walks
with Him all through the seasons of his/her life. What would you get for
witnessing for Jesus?
There would be instances that you would be
ridiculed. It doesn’t matter anyway because everything is worth it for Jesus
including the ridicules and chastisement. You may not immediately see the
fruits of your witnessing for Jesus but in His own perfect time you shall
harvest those fruits.
In our gospel Jesus mentions John the
Baptist who prepared the way for Him. John told those who were acclaiming him
to be the messiah that he was not. He told them that somebody greater is to
come after him and He was none other than Jesus.
John was an effective witness for Jesus
because he did not grab the credit that was only due for the Lord. He was
content to fade away so that Jesus would be highlighted more. With John’s
witness for Jesus we are educated about lessons on witnessing and humility.
That humility is one of the best if not
the best virtue that we could harness so that we can effectively bring and lead
others to Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
