FIRST READING
Numbers 21:4-9
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.” Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21
R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD, and all the kings of the earth your glory, When the LORD has rebuilt Zion and appeared in his glory; When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Let this be written for the generation to come, and let his future creatures praise the LORD: “The LORD looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die.”
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.
GOSPEL
John 8:21-30
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.
REFLECTIONS:
Do you know the healing power of the cross of Christ?
When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness
because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and
set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"
(Numbers 21:8). The bronze serpent points to the cross of Christ which
defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe.
The result of Jesus "being lifted up on the cross" and his rising and exaltation
to the Father's right hand in heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit"
and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only redeems us, but
he fills us with his own divine life and power that we might share in his
glory. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit that we may have power to be his
witnesses and to spread and defend the gospel by word and action, and to
never be ashamed of Christ's Cross. Are you ready to witness the truth
and joy of the gospel to those around you?
While many believed in Jesus and his message, many others, including
the religious leaders, opposed him. Some openly mocked him when he warned
them about their sin of unbelief. It's impossible to be indifferent to
Jesus' word and his judgments. We are either for him or against him. There
is no middle ground or neutral parties. When Jesus spoke about going away
he was speaking about his return to his Father and to his glory. His opponents
could not follow him because by their continuous disobedience to the word
of God and their refusal to accept him, they had shut themselves off from
God. Jesus warned them that if they continued to refuse him they would
die
in their sins. Jesus' words echoed the prophetic warning given to Ezekiel
(see Ezekiel 3:18 and 18:18) where God warns his people to heed his word
before the time is too late. God gives us time to turn to him and to receive
his grace, but that time is right now.
To sin literally means to miss the mark or to be off target.
The essence of sin is that it diverts us from God and from our true purpose
in life – to know the source of all truth and beauty which is God himself
and to be united with God in everlasting joy. When Adam and Eve first sinned,
they hid themselves from God (Genesis 3:8-10). That is what sin does; it
separates us from the One who is all loving, all-wise, and all-just. Jesus
went on to explain that if people could not recognize him in his word,
they would have the opportunity to recognize him when he is "lifted up"on
the cross of Calvary. Jesus pointed to the atoning sacrifice of his life
on the cross as the true source of healing and victory over the sin of
the world. The sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross for our sins is
the ultimate proof of God's love for us.
God so loved the world that
he gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life (John 3:16). To fail to recognize Jesus and where
he came from is to remain in spiritual darkness; to believe Jesus and his
words is to walk in the joy and light of God's truth. There are certain
opportunities in life that come and do not return. Each of us is given
the opportunity to know and to accept Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior.
But that opportunity can be rejected and lost. Life here is limited and
short, but how we live it has everlasting consequences. Do you take advantage
of the present time to make room for God so that your life will count for
eternity?
"Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern
our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be
according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and protected through
your mighty help."
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