Quotes Of Interest
Passion SundayThe fifth in Lent and second before Easter, the beginning of Passiontide.... It is a time for special reflection on the Passion and Death of Christ. It is also called Judica (Judge me) Sunday from the first word of the Introit.
1909 Catholic Dictionary
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Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
The only way to make our life continuously beautiful, and to keep it ever sweet with love—is to insist on judging ourselves day by day. Old accounts are hard to settle. Each setting of the sun, should be a signal to us to apply the law of Christ to all our life for the day. The hour of evening prayer, should always be a time for getting right all that may have gone wrong in us during the day. Then every feeling of bitterness against another should be cast out of our heart. Life is too critical for us to venture into any night’s darkness, nourishing anger or envy. "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry" is a wise counsel.
The anger left in the heart tonight—will be harder to overcome tomorrow, than it is today; for bitter feelings grow more bitter as they are cherished and nursed, and who knows what the end may be? They may grow into crimes—unless quickly put out of the heart. Evening prayer should bring love’s flood into all the life.
J.R. Miller's Year Book: A Year's Daily Readings March 15th
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MINISTRY MINUTEBe not dismayed by soul-trouble
The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary… experience. Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward. Even if the enemy’s foot be on your neck, expect to rise amid and overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints."
- Charles Spurgeon, The Minister’s Fainting Fits
Extracts slected by Rev.GMG
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Commentary on Sunday's Gospel John8:46-V46Which of you convinceth me? - To convince, with us, means to satisfy a man’s own mind of the truth of anything; but this is not its meaning here. It rather means to convict. Which of you can prove that I am guilty of sin?
Of sin - The word "sin" here evidently means "error, falsehood, or imposture." It stands opposed to truth. The argument of the Saviour is this: A doctrine might be rejected if it could be proved that he that delivered it was an impostor; but as you cannot prove this of me, you are bound to receive my words.V47He that is of God - He that loves, fears, and honors God.
Heareth God’s words - Listens to, or attends to the doctrines or commandments of God, as a child who loves his parent will regard and obey his commandments. This is an evidence of true piety. A willingness to receive all that God teaches us and to obey all his commandments, is an undoubted proof that we are his friends, Joh 14:21; 1Jo 2:4; 1Jo 3:24. As the Jews did not show a readiness to obey the commands of God, it proved that they were not of him, and to this was owing their rejection of the Lord Jesus.V50Mine own glory - My own praise or honor. In all his teaching this was true. He did not seek to exalt or to vindicate himself. He was willing to lie under reproach and to be despised. He regarded little, therefore, their taunts and accusations; and even now, he says, he would not seek to vindicate himself.
There is one that seeketh and judgeth - God will take care of my reputation. He seeks my welfare and honor, and I may commit my cause into his hands without attempting my own vindication. From these verses Joh 8:46-50 we may learn:
1. That where men have no sound arguments, they attempt to overwhelm their adversaries by calling odious and reproachful names. Accusations of heresy and schism, and the use of reproachful terms, are commonly proof that men are not only under the influence of unchristian feeling, but that they have no sound reasons to support their cause.
2. It is right to vindicate ourselves from such charges, but it should not be done by rendering railing for railing. "In meekness we should instruct those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth," 2Ti 2:25.
3. We should not regard it as necessarily dishonorable if we lie under reproach. If we have a good conscience, if we have examined for ourselves, if we are conscious that we are seeking the glory of God, we should be willing, as Jesus was, to bear reproach, believing that God will in due time avenge us, and bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the noonday, Psa 37:6.
v58Verily, verily - This is an expression used only in John. It is a strong affirmation denoting particularly the great importance of what was about to be affirmed. See the notes at Joh 3:5.Before Abraham was - Before Abraham lived.
I am - The expression I am, though in the present tense, is clearly designed to refer to a past time. Thus, in Psa 90:2, "From everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Applied to God, it denotes continued existence without respect to time, so far as he is concerned. We divide time into the past, the present, and the future. The expression, applied to God, denotes that he does not measure his existence in this manner, but that the word by which we express the present denotes his continued and unchanging existence. Hence, he assumes it as his name, "I AM," and "I AM that I AM," Exo 3:14. Compare Isa 44:6; Isa 47:8. There is a remarkable similarity between the expression employed by Jesus in this place and that used in Exodus to denote the name of God. The manner in which Jesus used it would strikingly suggest the application of the same language to God. The question here was about his pre-existence. The objection of the Jews was that he was not 50 years old, and could not, therefore, have seen Abraham. Jesus replied to that that he existed before Abraham. As in his human nature he was not yet 50 years old, and could not, as a man, have existed before Abraham, this declaration must be referred to another nature; and the passage proves that, while he was a man, he was also endowed with another nature existing before Abraham, and to which he applied the term (familiar to the Jews as expressive of the existence of God) I AM; and this declaration corresponds to the affirmation of John Joh 1:1, that he was in the beginning with God, and was God. This affirmation of Jesus is one of the proofs on which John relies to prove that he was the Messiah Joh 20:31, to establish which was the design of writing this book.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Commentary slected by Rev.GMG
