Invitation
May I ask for your attention for
daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel with you. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day.
Consideration
The continuation of the Gospel reading points to the possible hardening of unbelief. One can close oneself off from God. In contrast to this is the first reading: a change of heart is always possible. Moses is the great intercessor here and he contrasts three motives with God’s wrath.
– You led the people out of Egypt. Will you now abandon them?
– The Egyptians will rejoice and mock you
(this also occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament).
– Finally, he reminds God of his promise and the Covenant.
Conclusion: God always starts over with his people, in the past and in the present.
FIRST READING Exodus 32:7-14
‘Let the Lord forgive your evil doings.
From the Book of Exodus
At that time the Lord spoke to Moses:
’Go down, for the people you brought up out of Egypt
have been corrupted.
“They have already turned away
from the way I commanded them:
They have made an idol of a bull,
they bow down to it,
they offer sacrifices to it and cry:
Israel, this is the god who led you out of Egypt.‘
The Lord also spoke to Moses:
’I now see how stubborn this people is.
“Let me be,
then I can destroy them in my burning wrath.
‘But I will make you into a great nation.’
Moses tried to appease the Lord, his God, and asked:
‘Why, Lord, let your wrath rage against the people
that you have led with great power and strong hand out of Egypt?
’Why let the Egyptians be hated:
He has let them go
with the evil intention of letting them perish in the mountains
and wiping them off the face of the earth?
‘Do not let your anger rage against them any longer.
’Avert the disaster with which you threaten your people.
“Think of your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
to whom you have sworn by oath:
I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky,
and I will give them the whole land I have promised,
for all time,
and it will be their eternal inheritance.
Then the Lord relented
the disaster with which He had threatened his people.
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 106 (105): 19-20, 21-22, 23
Do not forget me, Lord, who favours your people. They made a sacred calf at Horeb
and bowed down before a cast of gold.
They exchanged their glory for an idol,
the image of a grass-eating cow. They had forgotten that God had saved them,
He who had shown his power in Egypt;
who had performed miracles in Ham
and amazing things by the Red Sea. He was already thinking of letting them go
when Moses, his friend, intervened.
He pleaded for them not to be exterminated
and turned God’s wrath away from them.
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL Mt. 4:17
Repent, says the Lord,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
GOSPEL John 5:31-47
Moses, in whom you trust, is the one who accuses you.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
At that time Jesus spoke to the Jews:
‘If I bear witness about myself,
my witness has no value.
’There is another who bears witness about me,
and I know
that his testimony about me is true.
‘You sent an envoy to John
and he testified to the truth.
’Not that I rely on man’s testimony,
but I say these things
so that you may be saved.
“He was a lamp that burned brightly
and for a little while you were willing to rejoice in his light.
‘But the testimony I have
is greater than that of John :
For the very works
which the Father gave Me to accomplish
and which I do accomplish,
bear witness of Me, that I am sent by the Father.
’And the Father Himself, who sent Me
has borne witness about Me.
‘You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you have not retained his word within you
because you do not believe Him whom He sent.
’You study the Scriptures
thinking that in them you will find eternal life,
but it is these very Scriptures that testify about Me.
‘And yet you do not want to come to me
to find life.
‘I do not seek to be honoured by men,
but I know
that you have no love of God in your hearts.
’I have come in my Father’s name
and yet you do not accept me.
“If another comes in his own name
you will accept him.
‘But how can you believe
if you try to earn honour from one another,
while you do not seek the honour that comes from the one God?
‘Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.
’There is already someone who accuses you:
Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
“For if you believed Moses
you would also believe in me,
for it was of me that he wrote.
‘If you do not believe what he wrote,
how can you believe what I say?’
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
The inevitable conflict
237. Forgiveness and reconciliation are themes of great importance in
Christianity and, in different ways, in other religions as well.
The risk lies in not sufficiently understanding the convictions of the
faithful and presenting them in such a way that they end up fuelling fatalism, indolence,
injustice, or even intolerance and violence.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation