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Gospel Reading for March 21, 2026 – John 7: 40-53
OSCILLATING
Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Then each went to his own house.
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Jesus knew that his message would bring division, as he himself said in Luke 12: 51–53. His teachings will always cause division in this world because of the presence of evil. While goodness seeks to unite, evil tends to divide. This is why we must constantly reflect and, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, discern where we should stand.
As Christians, we cannot remain OSCILLATING or undecided, for the teachings of Jesus are firm and uncompromising. If we remain steadfast in following him, we will not lose our way—even in the face of family expectations or social pressure.
In our time, there are many differing opinions about the conflicts in the Middle East. But for Christians, there is only one guiding principle: LOVE.
We pray for all victims of conflict, especially the most vulnerable. We entrust our Overseas Filipino Workers to the loving care of Mary, our Mother, and we ask St. Michael to protect them. We also pray that, through God’s grace and compassion, this conflict may come to an end very soon!
