March 18, 2026
Wednesday of the Fourth Week
of Lent
Lectionary: 246
Reading
1
Thus says the
LORD:
In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains,
and make my highways level.
See, some shall come from afar,
others from the north and the west,
and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the LORD comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me."
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (8a) The
Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Verse
Before the Gospel
I am the
resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
Gospel
Jesus answered the
Jews:
"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.
"I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031826.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
49:8-15
The reading is part of a celebration of the people’s joyful
return from their exile in Babylon to their home in Jerusalem. It comes from
Second Isaiah, a book full of hope and consolation which looks forward to the
end of the exile and the people’s going home again.
The Hebrews are still in exile, and though their lives are
led in hardship and bitterness, the prophet assures them that better times are
on the way. In response to the cry of God’s people:
Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I have answered you;
on a day of salvation I have helped you.
The reference is probably to the year of jubilee, but the
return from exile will bring about the same restoration of land for the people
as the jubilee did for those who, because of debt problems, may have had to
sell their land.
So the Lord now calls on his people:
…to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
saying to the prisoners, “Come out,”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
It is a time for the restoration of justice to all. The end
of their sorrows is symbolised in phrases like:
…they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down…
Their God is with them:
…he who has pity on them will lead them
and by springs of water will guide them.
The way will be made clear for their return:
I will turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
He will give them back their land, seized by the foreign
invader. He will bring freedom to the prisoners and light to those in darkness.
They will be surrounded by fertile lands, untouched by heat or thirst, and will
luxuriate in springs of fresh water. The ways to the homeland will be cleared
and exiles will return from as far away as the “land of Syene” (or Sinim—now
known as Aswan, the first cataract on the River Nile in Egypt).
It is a time for great rejoicing, in which the whole of
nature should take part:
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
Yet, Zion is still sceptical:
The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.
But they are wrong—utterly wrong. God does not forget his
people. He is full of tenderness and compassion, as gentle as that of any
mother, expressed in those extraordinarily gentle and affectionate words:
Can a woman forget her nursing child
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these might forget,
yet I will not forget you.
In our darkest moments, let us not forget the unchanging
intensity of God’s love for us.
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Commentary on John
5:17-30
Today’s Gospel follows immediately on yesterday’s story of
the healing of the man who was unable to walk by the pool at the Sheep Gate.
That passage had ended with the words:
Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he
was doing such things on the Sabbath. (John 5:16)
We might point out, as with some other Sabbath healings,
that there was absolutely no urgency to do the healing on a Sabbath for someone
who had waited 38 years. It is just another indication of the divine authority
with which Jesus works.
Jesus’ reply is direct and unapologetic:
My Father is still working, and I also am working.
Because Genesis speaks of God resting on the seventh day
(the origin of the Jewish Sabbath), it was disputed whether God was in any way
active on the Sabbath. Some believed that the creating and conserving work of
his creation went on, and others believe that he continued to pass judgement on
that day. In any case, Jesus is claiming here the same authority to work on the
Sabbath as his Father and has the same powers over life and death.
The Jewish leaders are enraged that Jesus speaks of God as
his own Father, and they want to kill him. They understand by his words that
Jesus is making himself God’s equal. Jesus, far from denying the accusation,
only confirms it.
Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own
but only what he sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does, the Son
does likewise.
This saying is taken from the model of an apprentice in a
trade. The apprentice son does exactly what his father does. Jesus’ relation to
his Father is similar:
The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he
himself is doing, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you
will be astonished. Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them
life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes.
And, we might add, whenever he wishes. Such giving of life
is something that belongs only to God—as does the right to judge, which Jesus
says has been delegated to him.
Jesus is the perfect mirror of the Father. The Father is
acting in him and through him. He is the Word of God—God speaks and acts
directly through him. God’s Word is a creative Word. Jesus, like the Father, is
life-giving, a source of life.
The right to judge has been delegated by the Father to the
Son. And to refuse to honour the Son is to refuse the same honour to the
Father. In everything, Jesus acts only according to the will of his Father and
does what his Father wants.
Jesus, then, is the Way—the Way through whom we go to God.
For us, there is no other Way. He is God’s Word to us and for us.
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Wednesday,
March 18, 2026
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Our God and Father,
You keep seeking
us out with love as passionate as a mother's love, even when we have abandoned
you. Give us hope and courage, especially when we feel uncertain.
Reassure us that You want us to live in the security of Your
love and that You stay with us through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 5: 17-30
Jesus answered
the Jews: "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work." For this
reason they tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the
sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot
do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he
does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him
everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives
life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father
judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor
the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not
honor the Father who sent him. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life. Amen, amen, I say to you, the
hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of
God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself. And he gave him
power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at
this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear
his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection
of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of
condemnation. "I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my
judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who
sent me."
Reflection
The Gospel of John is different from the other
three. It reveals a more profound dimension, which only faith is able to
perceive, in the words and gestures of Jesus. The Fathers of the Church would
say that the Gospel of John is “spiritual”; it reveals what the Spirit makes
one discover in the words of Jesus (cf. Jn 16: 1213). A beautiful example of
this spiritual dimension of the Gospel of John is the passage which we are
going to meditate on today.
•
John 5: 17-18: Jesus explains the profound
meaning of the healing of the paralytic. Criticized by the Jews for having
cured on the sabbath, Jesus answers, “My Father still goes on working, and I am
at work too!” The Jews taught that no work could be done on the sabbath,
because even God had rested and had not worked on the seventh day of creation
(Ex 20: 8-11). Jesus affirms the contrary. He says that the Father has always
worked even until now. And for this
reason, Jesus also works, and even on the sabbath. He imitates His Father! For
Jesus the work of creation is not finished as yet. God continues to work,
unceasingly, day and night, holding up the universe and all of us. Jesus
collaborates with the Father in continuing the work of creation in such a way
that one day all may be able to enter into the eternal rest that has been
promised. The reaction of the Jews was violent. They wanted to kill Him for two
reasons: because He denied the sense of the sabbath and for saying He was equal
to God.
•
John 5: 19-21: It is love which allows the
creative action of God to shine and be visible. These verses reveal something
of the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Jesus, the Son, lives
permanently attentive before the Father. What He sees the Father do, He does
also. Jesus is the reflection of the Father. He is the face of the Father! This
total attention of the Son to the Father makes it possible for the love of the
Father to enter totally into the Son and through the Son, carry out His action
in the world. The great concern of the Father is that of overcoming death and
giving life. It is a way of continuing the creative work of the Father.
•
John 5: 22-23: The Father judges no one; He has
entrusted all judgment to the Son. What is decisive in life is the way in which
we place ourselves before the Creator, because it radically depends on Him. Now
the Creator becomes present for us in Jesus. The plenitude of divinity dwells
in Jesus (cf. Col 1: 19). And therefore, according to the way in which we are
before Jesus, we express our position before God, the Creator. What the Father
wants is that we know Him and honor Him in the revelation which He makes of
Himself in Jesus.
•
John 5: 24: The life of God in us through Jesus.
God is life; He is the creating force. Wherever He is present, there is life.
He becomes present in the Word of Jesus. The one who listens to the word of
Jesus as a word that comes from God has already risen. He has already received
the vivifying touch which leads Him beyond death. Jesus passed from death to
life. The proof of this is in the healing of the paralytic.
•
John 5: 25-29: The resurrection is already
taking place. All of us are the dead who still have not opened ourselves to the
voice of Jesus, which comes from the Father. But “the hour will come” and it is
now, in which the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who will
listen, will live. With the Word of Jesus, which comes from the Father, the new
creation begins; it is already on the way. The creative word of Jesus will
reach all, even those who have already died. They will hear and will live.
•
John 5: 30: Jesus is the reflection of the
Father. “By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as I am told to judge,
and My judgment is just, because I seek to do not My own will but the will of
Him who sent Me.” This last statement is the summary of all that has been said
before. This is the idea that the Johannine community had and diffused
regarding Jesus.
Personal Questions
•
How do you allow the creative work of the Father
in your life?
•
“Those who have done good deeds will go to the
resurrection of life.” Do you exercise your faith in deeds, or just in talk, or
in just showing off for others?
Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
Yahweh is generous to all; His tenderness embraces all His
creatures. (Ps 145: 8-9)
