5th Week of Lent : Friday 31st March 2023

In this Reading, Jeremiah is in an argument with God. Events have been going against him. He wonders why he even took up the Lord’s cause. All he has received in return is a series of accusations and threats to his very life and unpopularity. As he argues and grumbles, the deep love implanted in his heart erupts and surfaces and, Spirit-filled, he praises and blesses the Lord. Never, never will he desert the Lord’s name and His cause. The Lord is his hero.

The Gospel shows Jesus to us as unpopular, harassed, accused, and threatened by those who revile the message and mission of love, which He has been consecrated by the Father. Undaunted and sustained by the knowledge of His Father’s love, Jesus continues to proclaim His identity. ‘I am the Son of God’. The Jewish people were enraged. But many did believe in Him. We do too. In the face of unpopularity, harassment, suffering and betrayal, the Lord is our strength. These things we must necessarily endure if we are to be identified with Him. It is the road to Jerusalem. Along that road, there are no shortcuts, just the helping hands of fellow followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, accompany those suffering people and us on the “road to Jerusalem.”