He rebuked them for their unbelief

Acts of the Apostles 4:13-21. 

Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Then when they saw the man who had been cured standing there with them, they could say nothing in reply.
So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, and conferred with one another, saying,
"What are we to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows that a remarkable sign was done through them, and we cannot deny it.
But so that it may not be spread any further among the people, let us give them a stern warning never again to speak to anyone in this name."
So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.
It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard."
After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened.

Psalms 118(117):1.14-15.16ab-18.19-21. 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:

"The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power."
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
Though the LORD has indeed chastised me,
yet he has not delivered me to death.

Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16:9-15. 

When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
(But) later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature."

"He rebuked them for their unbelief "

Where signs and testimonies abound, there is less merit in believing. God never works marvels except when they are a necessity for belief. Lest his disciples go without merit by having sensible proof of his resurrection, he did many things to further their belief before they saw him.
     
Mary Magdalene was first shown the empty sepulcher, and afterward the angels told her about the resurrection so she would, by hearing, believe before seeing. As St. Paul says: “Faith comes through hearing” (Rom10,17) . And though she beheld him, he seemed only an ordinary man, so by the warmth of his presence he could finish instructing her in the belief she was lacking

      And the women were sent to tell the disciples first... And journeying incognito to Emmaus with two of his followers, he inflamed their hearts in faith before allowing them to see him. Finally he reproved all his disciples for refusing to believe those who had told them of his resurrection. And announcing to Thomas that they are blessed who believe without seeing (Jn 20,29), he reprimanded him for desiring to experience the sight and touch of his wounds.

See how he loved him

Book of Ezekiel 37:12-14. 

Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. 

Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! 

I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. 

Psalms 130(129):1-2.3-4.5-6.7-8. 

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD 

LORD, hear my voice! 

Let your ears be attentive 

to my voice in supplication. 

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, 

LORD, who can stand? 

But with you is forgiveness, 

that you may be revered. 

I trust in the LORD; 

my soul trusts in his word. 

My soul waits for the Lord 

more than sentinels for dawn. 

For with the LORD is kindness 

and with him is plenteous redemption; 

and he will redeem Israel 

from all their iniquities. 

Letter to the Romans 8:8-11. 

Brothers and sisters: those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 

If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. 

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11:1-45. 

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. 

So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." 

When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 

So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. 

Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." 

The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" 

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 

But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." 

So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved." 

But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. 

So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. 

And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." 

So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." 

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." 

Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." 

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 

and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 

She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you." 

As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. 

For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. 

So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 

When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." 

And Jesus wept. 

So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." 

But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" 

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. 

Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." 

Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" 

So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me.

I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." 

And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go." 

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

“ And Jesus wept. So the Jews said : See how he loved him ”

O Lord, since you are true God you knew about Lazarus's sleep and had made it known to your disciples... Since you are true man, who nevertheless are without limit, you came to Bethany. True man, you wept upon Lazarus; true God, you raised, by your will, this man who had been dead for four days. O Lord, have mercy on me too; my sins are numerous. I beg you, come, pull me out of the abyss of evil. It is to you that I cry; listen to my prayer, God of my salvation. 

After weeping for your friend, in your compassion you put an end to Martha's tears, and through your voluntary Passion you wipe away the tears from all faces (Is 25:8). “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our Fathers” (Ezr 7:27). You, the guardian of life, cried out to the dead man as if he were sleeping. With a word you tore open the belly of hell and raised him who then began to sing: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my Fathers”. Raise me up too, I who am strangled by the ties of my sins, and I will then sing to you: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of our Fathers”... 

In her gratitude, Mary brings you, O Lord, a pound of costly perfumed oil as a due for her brother (Jn 12:3) and she sings to you forever and ever.  As mortal you pray the Father, as God you awaken Lazarus. This is why we sing to you, O Christ, forever and ever... You awaken Lazarus, a man dead for four days, you raise him from his tomb, making of him a true witness of your resurrection on the third day. You walk, you weep, you talk, O my Savior, showing us your human nature; but by raising Lazarus you reveal to us your divine nature. In such an unparallelled way as this, O Lord my Saviour, by your two natures and with sovereign power you accomplished my salvation.

A division occurred in the crowd because of him

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 7:40-53. 

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, "This is truly the Prophet."
Others said, "This is the Messiah." But others said, "The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?
Does not scripture say that the Messiah 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 one."
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 person 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,

"A division occurred in the crowd because of him"

It is with our bodily eyes that we notice what is happening in life and all around us: we observe the difference between light and darkness, white and black, ugly and beautiful... ; the same thing happens with regard to what comes to us through our sense of hearing : high-pitched, low-pitched, concordant. However, we also have ears of the heart and eyes of the soul and with these it is possible to grasp God. Thus God is perceived by those who can see him when the eyes of their souls have been opened.

We all have physical eyes but, for some of us, they are veiled and don't see the light of day. If the blind can't see, this is not because the light of the sun is not shining! It is themselves and their eyes that the blind are handicapped by. The same applies to you : the eyes of your soul are covered over by your sins and evil deeds... ; when someone sins, they can't see God anymore...

Nevertheless, if you want to, you can be healed. Entrust yourself to the doctor and he will operate on the eyes of your soul and heart. Which doctor is this ? It is God, who heals and gives life through his Word and Wisdom. For it is through his Word and Wisdom that God made all things... If you understand this and your life is pure and pious and upright, then you are able to see God. But before all else let faith and the fear of God enter your heart first and then you will understand it. When you have put off mortality and put on immortality (1Cor 15:53) then you will see God according as you deserve. He is the God who will raise up your flesh to immortality along with your soul. And then, when you have become immortal, you will see the immortal God insofar as you have believed in him now.

When you lift up the Son of Man, you will come to realize that I AM

Book of Numbers 21:4-9. 
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, 
the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" 
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. 
Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, 
and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." 
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered. 



Psalms 102(101):2-3.16-18.19-21. 
LORD, hear my prayer; 
let my cry come to you. 
Do not hide your face from me 
now that I am in distress. 
Turn your ear to me; 
when I call, answer me quickly. 

The nations shall revere your name, O LORD, 
and all the kings of the earth your glory, 
when the LORD has rebuilt Zion 
and appeared in his glory; 
when he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, 
and not despised their prayer. 

Let this be written for the generation to come, 
and let his future creatures praise the LORD: 
"The LORD looked down from his holy height, 
from heaven he beheld the earth, 
to hear the groaning of the prisoners, 
to release those doomed to die." 




Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8:21-30. 
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world." 
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 
So Jesus said (to them), "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. 
The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him." 
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. 

“When you lift up the Son of Man, you will come to realize that I AM”

The person who truly venerates the Lord’s passion must look so hard at Jesus crucified with the eyes of his heart that he recognizes his own flesh in that of Jesus… No sick person can imagine himself refusing the triumph of the cross and there is no one who does not find help in Christ’s prayer. If this prayer benefited many of his torturers, how much more will it help those who turn to him!

By the fact that the divinity adopted our nature, because of which “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,” (Jn 1:14) was any person excluded from his mercy unless he refused to believe? If we welcome him who assumed it and are regenerated by the Spirit who begot him, do we not have a nature that we share with Christ? In addition, who would not recognize their own weaknesses in him… who “took the form of a slave” (Phil 2:7)? …

This lifeless body that lay in the tomb but rose on the third day and ascended up above all the heavenly heights to the right hand of the Father’s majesty, this body is ours. If we walk in the way of his commandments and are not ashamed to profess all he did for our salvation in emptying himself in the flesh, then we also shall be lifted up to share in his glory. For what he announced will be radiantly fulfilled: “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my father in heaven.” (Mt 10:32) 

Neither do I condemn you... I am the light of the world

Book of Isaiah 43:16-21. 
Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, 
Who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched like a wick. 
Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; 
See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. 
Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, For I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, 
The people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise. 



Psalms 126(125):1-2ab.2cd-3.4-5.6. 
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, 
we were like men dreaming. 
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, 
and our tongue with rejoicing. 

Then they said among the nations, 
"the LORD has done great things for them." 
The LORD has done great things for us; 
we are glad indeed. 

Restore our fortunes, O LORD, 
like the torrents in the southern desert. 
Those that sow in tears 
shall reap rejoicing. 

Although they go forth weeping, 
carrying the seed to be sown, 
they shall come back rejoicing, 
carrying their sheaves. 




Letter to the Philippians 3:8-14. 
Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ 
and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith 
to know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, 
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 
It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ (Jesus). 
Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, 
I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus. 



Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8:1-11. 
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. 
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 
They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"
They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 
And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 
She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more." 

“Neither do I condemn you... I am the light of the world” (Jn 8,11-12)

O my God, my Creator, who love to forgive,
Make the brightness of your inaccessible light grow greater over me
To fill my heart with joy.
Be not angry; do not forsake me!
But make my soul radiant with your light,
For your light, O my God, is you…

I have gone aside from your straight road, the divine road,
And have fallen lamentably from the glory that had been given me.
I have been stripped of the shining robe, the divine robe,
And fallen into the darkness; now I lie in darkness
And do not realize I am deprived of light…
For if you have shone from on high, if you have appeared in the shadows,
If you have come into the world, O Merciful One,
If you have desired to live with men
In our human condition, for love of humankind,
If… you are said to be the light of the world (Jn 8:12)
And we do not even see you,
Is this not because we are completely blind
And more unfortunate than the blind, O my Christ?...

As for you, who are all good things, you give them unceasingly
to your servants, to those who see your light…
Whoever possesses you, truly possesses in you all other things.
May I not be deprived of you, O Lord! May I not be deprived of you, Creator!
May I not be deprived of you, O Merciful One, I, the humble stranger…
I beg you, set me with you,
Even if I have multiplied sins more than everyone else.
Receive my prayer like that of the publican (Lk 18:13)
Or like that of the sinful woman, Lord, even though I weep not as she did (Lk 7:38)…
Are you not the source of pity, the spring of mercy and river of goodness?
Therefore, on this account have pity on me!
Ah yes, you who had hands and feet nailed to the cross
And your side pierced with the lance, you the All-Compassionate,
Have pity on me and snatch me away from the eternal burning…
That on that day I may stand before you without condemnation
To be welcomed into your wedding chamber
In which I shall share your happiness, good Master,
In inexpressible joy throughout the ages. Amen.