Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 16th March, 2024
Saturday, Fourth week of Lent
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah 11:18-20
I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house.
The Lord revealed it to me;
I was warned. Lord, that was when you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me,
‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’
But you, the Lord of hosts who pronounce a just sentence,
who probe the loins and heart,
let me see the vengeance you will take on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 7
Response Lord God, I take refuge in you.
1. Lord God, I take refuge in you. From my pursuer save me and rescue me,
lest he tear me to pieces like a lion and drag me off with no one to rescue me. Response
2. Give judgement for me, Lord; I am just and innocent of heart.
Put an end to the evil of the wicked!
Make the just stand firm, you who test mind and heart, O just God! Response
3. God is the shield that protects me, who saves the upright of heart.
God is a just judge slow to anger; but he threatens the wicked every day. Response
Gospel Acclamation Ez 33:11
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
‘I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks –
but in the turning back of a wicked man who changes his ways to win life.‘
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or Lk 8: 15
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John 7:40-52 Glory to you, O Lord
Would the Christ be from Galilee?
Several people who had been listening to Jesus said,
‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’
So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him.
The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’
The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him‘.
‘So’ the Pharisees answered
‘You have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees?
This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’
One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them,
‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’
To this they answered,
‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent
At the end of the gospel reading, the religious leaders say, ‘Prophets do not come out of Galilee’. Earlier in this gospel of John, Nathanael had asked, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Both the statement and the questions reveal a certain prejudice relating to a particular place. There is another example of prejudice in the gospel reading. The religious authorities declare, ‘this rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned’. There is a presumption here that that those who have not had a certain kind of religious training are incapable of sound judgement when it comes to the ways of God. It can often be tempting to prejudge someone or some group on the basis of where they live or where they come from or their level of education. The opposite to prejudice or pre-judging is to suspend judgement on some individual or group until sufficient evidence can be gathered that enables an informed judgement to be made. This is the attitude displayed by Nicodemus in the gospel reading. Although he was a Pharisee, a member of a group normally hostile to Jesus of Nazareth, he was devoid of prejudice, declaring, ‘surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about’. The corrective to prejudice is to give people a hearing, to be open to the presence of truth and goodness in someone or some group, even when we might least expect it. Giving people a hearing with a view to really understanding who they are and where they are coming from can head off unnecessary conflict. Such unprejudiced listening is needed today more than ever. As people of faith, especially, we have to be open to the presence of God’s Spirit where we might not expect to find it.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
