Daily Gospel (2713)
March 31, 2021
Written by Super User
Gospel: Mt 26:14-25
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give
me if I hand him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver; and from then on, he kept looking for the
best way to hand Jesus over to them. On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came
to Jesus and said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to
March 30, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 13:21-33, 36-38*
After saying this, Jesus was distressed in spirit, and said plainly, “Truly, one of you will betray me.” The disciples then looked at one
another, wondering whom he meant. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining near Jesus; so Simon Peter signaled him to ask
Jesus whom he meant. And the disciple, who was reclining near Jesus, asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “I shall dip a piece of
March 29, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 12:1-11
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where he had raised Lazarus, the dead man, to life. Now they gave
a dinner for him, and while Martha waited on them, Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume,
made from genuine spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the
March 28, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Mk 14:1-15:47*
(…) Early in the morning, the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the Law (that is, the whole Council or Sanhedrin) had their plan ready. They put
Jesus in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “You say so.”
As the chief priests accused Jesus of many things, Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer at all? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus
March 27, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 11:45-56*
Many of the Jews who had come with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw what he did; but some went to the Pharisees and told
them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called together the Council. (...) Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was
High Priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! It is better to have one man die for the people than to let the whole nation
be destroyed.” In saying this Caiaphas did not speak for himself, but being High Priest that year, he foretold like a prophet that Jesus would die
for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also would die in order to gather into one the scattered children of God. So, from that day
on, they were determined to kill him. Because of this, Jesus no longer moved about freely among the Jews. He withdrew instead to the
country near the wilderness, and stayed with his disciples in a town called Ephraim. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and people from
everywhere were coming to Jerusalem to purify themselve before the Passover. They looked for Jesus and, as they stood in the temple, they
talked with one another, “What do you think? Will he come to the festival?” Meanwhile the chief priests and the elders had given orders
that anyone who knew where he was should let them know, so that they could arrest him.
Reflection:
The religious authorities are now perplexed at the mighty works that Jesus
performs. It attracted a great following. Soon the Roman conquerors will take notice
and perhaps suppress the Jesus movement. It bodes ill for the religious authorities.
It might destroy the status quo they have painstakingly cultivated with their foreign
occupiers. It is time to put a stop to what Jesus is doing. The funny thing is, they miss
the significance of Jesus’ actions. The messianic time is now unfolding before
their eyes. Their hopes and aspirations are now slowly realized in Jesus. Yet they
can only think of their own survival, of the preservation of their privileges and the
continuation of the business as usual collaboration with the foreign invaders. Thus,
they plotted to kill the bearer of their deepest wish. When personal good and wellbeing
is at stake, our minds become clouded and can not see clearly beyond our own
narrow interest.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
March 26, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 10:31-42
The Jews then picked up stones to throw at him; so Jesus said, “I have openly done many good works among you, which
the Father gave me to do. For which of these do you stone me?” The Jews answered, “We are not stoning you for doing a good work,
but for insulting God; you are only a man, and you make yourself God.” Then Jesus replied, “Is this not written in your law: I said, you are
MArch 25, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Lk 1:26–38
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a virgin, who was
betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said,
“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean.
March 24, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 8:31-42
Jesus went on to say to the Jews who believed in him “You will be my true disciples, if you keep my word. Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are the descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of
anyone. What do you mean by saying: You will be free?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave. But the
slave doesn’t stay in the house forever; the son stays forever. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be really free. I know that you are the
descendants of Abraham; yet you want to kill me because my word finds no place in you. For my part, I speak of what I have seen in my
Father’s presence, but you do what you have learned from your father.” They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” Then Jesus said, “If
you were Abraham’s children, you would do as Abraham did. But now you want to kill me, the one who tells you the truth – the truth that
I have learned from God. That is not what Abraham did; what you are doing are the works of your father.”
The Jews said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father God.” Jesus replied, “If God were your Father you would
love me, for I came forth from God, and I am here. And I didn’t come by my own decision, but it was he himself who sent me.”
Reflection:
Truth and our reception of the truth is what sets us free. It is not dependent
on blood relations or other human conventions such as status, education and wealth.
Freedom in its basic sense is freedom of movement, expression and freedom
to dream and realize one’s dreams to the best of one’s capacities. But there is a
kind of freedom that is not dependent on any of these. It is the inner freedom of the
person to be. This freedom starts with the confrontation of truth. This is the freedom
that Jesus tries to bring to others. He leads them to the truth. Sadly, truth is so lonely
in this world. That is why His audience engages Him in verbal combat. They cannot
accept the truth that it is through Jesus that they can realize their deepest freedom.
They cling to their status as Abraham’s children, the chosen of God. Hence their
privileged status because of God’s gracious love becomes an obstacle to know the Truth
of God before them.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
March 23, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 8:21-30
Again Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and though you look for me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot
come.” The Jews wondered, “Why does he say that we can’t come where he is going? Will he kill himself?” But Jesus said, “You are
from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He.” They asked him, “Who are you?”; and Jesus said, “Just what I have told you from the
beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One who sent me is truthful and everything I learned
from him, I proclaim to the world.” They didn’t understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of
Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself, but I say just what the Father taught me. He who sent me is with me and has not left me alone;
because I always do what pleases him.” As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in him.
Reflection:
Context is important in understanding what is being said. It provides
a background on which we can situate the words spoken. Without context,
we are left to our own imagination and guess work. Our interpretation
is uncertain. The people in today’s gospel doesn’t have the context to understand
what Jesus speaks. Hence, misunderstanding and confusion sets in. They keep
asking Jesus to clarify what He means. Jesus shows extraordinary patience
in accommodating these people who are slow to understand and believe.
But he persists, thus many believe in Him in the end. It always pays to be patient.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
March 22, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 8:1–11
As for Jesus, he went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak Jesus appeared in the temple again. All the people came to him,
and he sat down and began to teach them. Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had
been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone. “Master,” they said, “this woman has been
caught in the act of adultery. Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but you, what do you say?” They
said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against him. Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his
finger. And as they continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them, “Letanyone among you who has no sin be the
first to throw a stone at her.” And he bent down, again, writing on the ground. As a result of these words, they went
away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing before him. Then Jesus stood up
and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I
condemn you; go away and don’t sin again.”
Reflection:
It is sad that sometimes we use the laws of our faith not to lead people to
good but to oppress and bring them to their downfall. This manipulation of laws
ordered towards the good of humankind is a great disservice to God. Take for
example our gospel today. The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees want to punish the
adulterous woman while at the same time compromising the Lord. If He consents to the
punishment of the woman, He runs counter to His message of love. If He allows the woman
to go scot free, He violates the Law of their faith. What is at trial here is not Jesus but love.
And it was love that saves the day. Jesus asks the people to evaluate themselves if
they are truly righteous and go ahead and punish the woman. He brought them
to confront themselves. That is why, one by one they left. The sinful woman is a
miniature of each and every one of them. This solidarity in sinning is what brought them
back to their senses. If they condemn the woman, they are condemning themselves.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
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March 21, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 12:20-33
There were some Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem to worship during the feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him,
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went to Andrew, and the two of them told Jesus. Then Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, I
say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it, and those
March 20, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 7:40-53
Many who had been listening to these words began to say, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some
wondered, “Would the Christ come from Galilee? Doesn’t Scripture say that the Christ is a descendant of David and from
Bethlehem, the city of David?” The crowd was divided over him. Some wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
March 19, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Mt 1:16, 18–21, 24a (or Lk 2:41–51a)
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ—the Messiah.
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together,
she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He
was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke up, he did what the
angel of the Lord had told him to do, and he took his wife to his home.
Reflection:
The role of Joseph in the plan of salvation is very important. It was
prophesied that the Messiah would be from the stock of David. Mary
belongs to the clan of Levites. Hence she could not provide the Davidic
lineage to Jesus. Joseph comes from the House of David. That is why he
returned to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house
and line of David during the census ordered by Quirinius, the governor
of Syria. The plan of God would have been jeopardized had he not
consented to be the foster father of the Lord when He became Man. Joseph is a
man of few words. Yet he has done much for the plan of God to succeed. May we
be like him who silently work for the kingdom to be realized here on earth soon.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021
March 18, 2021
Written by Super UserGospel: Jn 5:31-47
If I bore witness to myself, my testimony would be worthless. But Another One is bearing witness to me, and I know
that his testimony is true when he bears witness to me. John also bore witness to the truth when you sent messengers to him, but
I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved. (...) You search in the Scriptures, thinking
