Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
The reading from the Book of Wisdom begins with the line, “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings.”
It appears that people have always wanted to “do their own thing.” The prophets were killed because they confronted the sins of those who did not want to obey God. John the Baptist was killed because he dared to confront the adulterous relationship between Herod and Herodias.
Jesus is confronted by those who would not believe that he was sent to them by God. They tried to arrest him but were unable “because his hour had not yet come.”
What can we learn from these readings? To the wicked, Jesus is obnoxious. But, to us, every word he speaks attracts us to him. We should accept the sins that Jesus confronts us with, and then accept the grace that Jesus gives to help us change and seek forgiveness. We should want to do God’s will rather than our own.