3 April 2017

by

Monday, 3 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the Scripture readings, from the Book of Daniel the prophet, where we heard the false accusation done by two elders of Israel against the faithful woman, Susanna. The two elders went wayward and disobeyed the Lord, allowing their lust and desire to take over their minds and bodies, and caused them to sin before the Lord and before their fellow men.

They were the elders entrusted with the guardianship and judgment over the people. They were supposed to be those who were most well versed in the matter of the Law and the commandments of God, and yet, they misused their authority to satisfy their own selfish desires. They presented false testimonies and accusations against the innocent, just because they wanted to cover the tracks of their own sins and wickedness.

But God would not allow His faithful ones to suffer such injustice. And therefore through the work of Daniel, God rescued Susanna from the hands of the two elders who wanted to see her destroyed while concealing their sins. They wanted to accuse others of their sins, but they themselves were judged and condemned because of their own sins. This is what is reinforced by what we heard in today’s Gospel, where we heard how Jesus dealt with those who wanted to persecute and punish the woman who had been caught in the midst of committing adultery.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law wanted to test Jesus by using the woman who had been accused of committing adultery, to see if He would judge her and therefore, they themselves could use whatever He was to say against Him. That was just how wicked those who were opposed to Jesus were, as they were prepared to manipulate and to take advantage of the situation to serve their own purposes.

But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and He did not fall for the trickery. If He had condemned the woman, then He would be in trouble, because He had walked often among prostitutes and the tax collectors, then the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would condemn Jesus for His frequent sorties and work among those considered as sinners. It was believed then that if one was to come into contact with sinners, they would be defiled as well.

If Jesus had not condemned the woman, then it would have been used to condemn Him either way, as an arbitrary person who did not recognise or turned a blind eye on sin committed by the woman. But that is when Jesus, Who in His wisdom knew what to do, chose instead to reveal that very fact which many people, especially the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, loathed to admit, that everyone is a sinner.

Thus He simply asked all of them, that the one who was without sin ought to cast the first stone against her. And indeed, no one raised even a stone against her, and beginning from the oldest ones among them, who have lived the longest, and therefore arguably having committed the most sins in their lives, left the woman behind and went away. Eventually every one of those who wanted to punish the woman and those who wanted to test Jesus went away. No one was without sin, and they were all aware of it, as much as many of them loathed to admit the fact.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, by knowing this fact, all of us should understand just how fortunate we are to have God with us, on our side, guiding us and caring for us. Jesus was the only One Who was without sin at that time, and yet, He did not judge the woman and punish her. Instead, He gave the woman a new chance and an opportunity. He said to her, “Go and sin no more.”

This is what we need to remember, brothers and sisters in Christ. It is often that we misunderstood the Lord and His desire for us to be forgiven. Many of us thought that God is ever merciful and loving, and we often used this instance of how Jesus forgave the woman who committed adultery as the reason to back up our claim that God will forgive whatever sins we commit in life.

Yet, if we understand what the Lord wants from us, then we are really mistaken, brethren. For while God is merciful and He wants us to be reconciled with Him, this depends also on the acceptance on our side, of the forgiveness which He had given freely to all of us. And what does acceptance mean, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is precisely the words, “Go and sin no more.” And that means, total and complete repentance, the sincere regret and penance for our sins.

It is what we need to do from now on, brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is what we need to proclaim and tell to our fellow brethren, all those who are still lost in the darkness, so that each and every one of us may find our way to the Lord and His salvation. God will forgive us, only if we sincerely turn our ways back away from our sinful past, and embrace wholeheartedly the forgiveness, by practicing what is righteous and just in our actions, sinning no more and doing what is right from now on.

Let us all pray, brothers and sisters, for the conversion of the whole world to Christ. Let us all pray, that mankind will be able to turn away from sin, and become faithful disciples and followers of our God, so that no more people, no more souls will fall into the eternal damnation in hell fire. May God be with us all, and may He forgive us all our sins, all of us who desire to be forgiven. Amen.

by

Monday, 3 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
John 8 : 1-11

At that time, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak He appeared in the Temple again. All the people came to Jesus, and He sat down and began to teach them. Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone.

“Master,” they said, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but You, what do You say?” They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against Him. Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. And as they continued to ask Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And He bent down again, writing on the ground.

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go away and do not sin again.”

by

Monday, 3 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

by

Monday, 3 April 2017 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Daniel 13 : 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

There lived in Babylon a man named Joakim, who was married to a very beautiful God-fearing woman, Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter, whose pious parents had trained her in the law of Moses. A very rich man and greatly respected by all the Jews, Joakim was frequently visited by the Jews in his house adjoining a garden.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, in whom this word of the Lord became true, “Wickedness has come forth from Babylon, through the elders appointed judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” These men frequented Joakim’s house, and all who had legal disputes used to come to them.

After the people had left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden for a walk. The two old men began to lust for her as they watched her enter the garden every day. Forgetting the demands of justice and virtue, their lust grew all the more as they made no effort to turn their eyes to heaven.

One day, as they were waiting for an opportune time, Susanna entered the garden as usual with only two maids. She decided to bathe, for it was a hot day. Nobody else was there except the two elders watching her from where they had hidden themselves. She said to the maids, “Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

When the maids had left, the two elders hurried to her and said, “Look, the garden doors are shut and no one sees us. We desire to posses you. If you refuse to give in, we will testify that you sent your maids away for there was a young man here with you.” Susanna moaned, “Whatever I do, I am trapped. If I give in to your desire, it will be death for me; if I refuse, I will not escape your persecution. I would rather be persecuted than sin in the eyes of the Lord.”

Susanna shrieked, but the old men shouted, putting the blame on her. One of them ran and opened the garden doors. Hearing the noise in the garden, the household servants rushed in by the side entrance to see what was happening. They were taken aback when they heard the elders’ accusation, for never had anything like this been said of Susanna.

The next day a meeting was held at Joakim’s house. The two elders arrived, vindictively determined to have Susanna sentenced to death. They ordered before all the people, “Send for Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter and Joakim’s wife.” They sent for her, and she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. Her family and all who saw her wept.

The two elders stood up and laid their hands upon her head. Completely trusting in the Lord, she raised her tearful eyes to heaven. The elders started making their accusation, “We were taking a walk in the garden when this woman came in with two maids. She ordered them to shut the garden doors and dismissed them. Then a young man came out of hiding and lay with her. We were in a corner in the garden, and we saw this crime from there.”

“We ran to them, and caught them in the act of embracing. We were unable to take hold of the man. He was too strong for us. He made a dash for the door, opened it and ran off. But we were able to seize this woman. We asked her who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. This is our statement, and we testify to its truth.”

The assembly took their word, since they were elders and judges of the people. Susanna was condemned to death. She cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” they all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have falsely testified against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two men from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

“Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under what tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths. In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.

Alternative reading (shorter version)
Daniel 13 : 41c-62

Susanna was condemned to death. She cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” they all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have falsely testified against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two men from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

“Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under what tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths. In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.