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Lenten Weekday
Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
John 8:31-42
Summary
King Nebuchadnezzar saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking with angel
i
n
the white hot furnace unharmed.
Jesus said to those who believed in him, ˈ
K
now the truth, and the truth will make
you free.ˉ They answered, ˈ
We
have never been slaves. We are children of
Abraham.ˉ Jesus said to them, ˈ
B
ut now you are trying to kill me. This is not
what Abraham did.ˉ
Reflection
A dear friend, a daily communicant, often tells a story on himself. It seems that
for years at the early mass he would enjoy listening to the homilist. ˈTell˅um how
they ought to behave!ˉ My friend was delighted that such profound words would
be spoken for the many gathered. After years and years, my friend said, ˈI went
to daily mass never thinking that the homilist was speaking to me.ˉ At this point
my friend turned red, and said, ˈit took me awhile to hear that the message was
for me!ˉ
This Gospel passage not only address
es
the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus˅
time; it starts with, ˈJesus said to those Jews who believed in him.ˉ That means
me! I do believe in Jesus. So what is the message? The passage continues on
that when we choose to following someone other than Jesus who lives in our
hearts
,
then we are killing the Jesus that dwells there in our hearts.
With that in mind it just makes we feel so awful about my sins, my selfishness,
my stubbornness, my hateful words and thoughts. Each time I choose to reject
all that is of light and goodness I allow myself to kill the very spirit within me that
unites me to God.
The first reading talks about three faithful servants of the Lord, who would not