Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Thursday 3rd week of Lent
March 23, 2006
Thursday 3rd week of Lent - Yr II
JEREMIAH 7:23-28
Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my
voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all
the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed
not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil
hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. From the day
that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent
you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed
me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than
their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not
listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of
the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.
LUKE 11:14-23
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had
gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them
said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out
demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he
knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against
itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if
Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you
say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive
out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God
that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are
safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes
away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever
is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me
scatters."
REFLECTION
Prophecy has nothing to do with telling the future. Nor is it about
changing people's lives. Prophesy is about making the word of the Lord
known even in the most hostile and dangerous situations. You can see
the truth of this in Jeremiah's experience as a prophet.
God uses very harsh language in accusing the Israelites of abandoning
the covenant. "They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and
turned their backs to me ... [from the very beginning when] I sent my
servants the prophets ... they stiffened their necks and did worse than
their fathers." God, with no attempt to soften his words for Jeremiah's
sake, bluntly warns the prophet, "When you speak all these words to
them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them they
will not answer you." Nonetheless God commands Jeremiah to speak out to
the people in harsh reprimand, even though there is no real hope that
the people will change. The essential is to be accomplished: the word
will be made present to men. Because of Jeremiah's preaching, he has
become the target of ruthless ridicule and bitter mockery. He has been
imprisoned and a mob seeks his death. Yet God urges him to make his
word known to his persecutors.
Jesus, the last and the greatest of the prophets, experienced this same
treatment at the hands of those he came to save. He whose life was an
open book inviting all to reconcile with the Father, is accused in
today's Gospel of being a demon who casts out devils by the power of
the prince of devils. In Jesus' case those who seek his death would be
successful.
Are we called to be prophets? Yes, through our actions rather than with
our words: to stand for Christian values, to take counter-cultural
Christian positions, to be uncompromisingly honest, to be
compassionate, to be on the side of the weak, the marginalized, the
rejected.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray -
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the personal intentions of Mike Torres.
- for the restoration of love and understanding of Charles & Cheryl C.
- Thanksgiving prayers for Rikit Navarro.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Fr. Aristotle Chan Dy, S.J.
- Healing: Ruby Gan
- Prayer Intention: Nañagas Family
- In Memoriam (+): Co Go Bee Ngo
- In Memoriam (+): Edward Lim
- In Memoriam (+): Go Bee Ngo
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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