Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10, 31-42
The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.
He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him.
Many believed in Him
1. To Stone. In life, we can go through many situations where we feel we are being stoned by others. They hurt us with words and attitudes, they ignore us, or make us feel outsiders. These are hard stones that hurt us. Sometimes, just because we think differently, others want to strike us somehow. We must accept responsibility because at times, we are also the ones that lash out at others. We are not willing to talk; we choose confrontation over dialogue.
2. Our Father. Jesus continues to show us that we are God’s children, but if we let ourselves be led by sin, we become slaves. We belong to God and His love is so great that we become His children and as a result, we are free. There is a saying that we must not forget “the one who loves you, sets you free and the one who wants to possess you, enslaves you”.
3. To believe. They believe because of the signs that Jesus shows. Similarly, people will believe in you because of your attitudes and way of acting. Acting follows being. When I see your attitudes, I will be able to tell who you are.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Never forget that something good is on the way!
