Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent
Exo 32:7-14
Jn 5:31-47
“…the father who sent me bears witness to me himself…his words find no home in you…”
Jesus was sent by God to save mankind from sin and death. His message is simple. Follow his teachings. Repent of our sins. Then we will have the chance of eternal life.
Sadly, we don’t listen. We find ingenious ways to disobey God. In the First Reading from Exodus, the Jews couldn’t wait to worship the golden calf (image of an Egyptian God) once Moses was absent. Their disobedience brought death and suffering. Stubborn and ungrateful, Exodus records many other events where the Jews still rejected the voice of God, no matter how much God tried. Finally, their disobedience meant 40 years of wandering in the desert.
The gospel reading then reflects this unfortunate theme. There was clear evidence of Jesus divinity. He had performed many miracles. He showed scriptures which testified that he was the Son of God. John the Baptist (who the Jews revered as God’s prophet) also testified to this fact. Yet, the scribes, Pharisees and officials rejected Jesus. They may have studied the scriptures, but they interpreted it in their own way.
Why is this so?
I believe the reason is because mankind wants to be like GOD. Man wants his will, not God’s will. This desire started from Adam and Eve. Eve ate the forbidden fruit only when the serpent said she would be like God, knowing good and evil. From that moment, history is littered with mankind’s action to supplant God.
Today, bolstered by science and technology, the desire to play God is at its peak. The secular world has done a great job in removing sin from man’s conscience. Aided by ‘liberal’ Christian demoninations, Christian values and truths are perverted. Sadly, the examples are :
1. Abortion is a right and is good while an unborn child is not a human and doesn’t deserve life.
2. Marriage is about love and therefore LQBT can get married in church as God is Love.
3. Rejection of clear bible teachings on same sex relationships.
4. Gay and lesbian pastors assuming leadership positions in many Christian churches.
5. Adoption of gender fluidity – basically, a rejection of what is male and female.
And the list goes on.
Today, Jesus continues to lament about our hardness of heart. Nevertheless, Lent is the right time to understand that SIN is real. Let us listen to the word of God and repent of our sins. God is already so offended!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Andrew Sia)
Prayer: Lord, help me to make one change daily in my life to be a better Catholic. Help me to pray and listen to your voice.
Thanksgiving: You have the message of eternal life. Thanks be to you for our faith. Help me bring this message to as many people as possible.
OXYGEN 
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