Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 246
Lectionary: 246
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.
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
PsalmPS 145:8-9, 13CD-14,
17-18
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.
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 GospelJN 11:25A, 26
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.
whoever believes in me will never die.
GospelJN 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."
"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."
Meditation:
"My Father is working still, and I am working"
Who
can claim authority and power over life and death itself? Jesus not only made
such a claim, he showed God's power to heal and restore people to wholeness of
life. He also showed the mercy of God by releasing people from their burden of
sin and guilt. He even claimed to have the power to raise the dead to life and
to execute judgment on all the living and dead. The Jewish authorities were
troubled with Jesus' claims and looked for a way to get rid of him. He either
had to be a mad man and an imposter or who he claimed to be - God's divine son.
Unfortunately, they could not accept Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, the
anointed one sent by the Father to redeem his people. They sought to kill him
because he claimed an authority and equality with God which they could not
accept. They failed to recognize that this was God's answer to the long-awaited
prayers of his people: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day
of salvation I have helped you" (Isaiah 49:8).
A
"covenant" to the people
Jesus was sent by the Father as "a covenant to the people" to reconcile them with God and restore to them the promise of paradise and everlasting life. Jesus' words and actions reveal God's mercy and justice. Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah when he brings healing, restoration, and forgiveness to those who accept his divine message.
Jesus was sent by the Father as "a covenant to the people" to reconcile them with God and restore to them the promise of paradise and everlasting life. Jesus' words and actions reveal God's mercy and justice. Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah when he brings healing, restoration, and forgiveness to those who accept his divine message.
The
religious authorities charged Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer. They
wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed equality with God - something they
thought no mortal could say without blaspheming. Little did they understand
that Jesus was both human and divine - the eternal Son with the Father and the
human son, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Jesus answered
their charge of breaking the Sabbath law by demonstrating God's purpose for
creation and redemption - to save and restore life. God's love and mercy never
ceases for a moment. Jesus continues to show the Father's mercy by healing and
restoring people, even on the Sabbath day of rest. When the religious leaders
charged that Jesus was making himself equal with God, Jesus replied that he was
not acting independently of God because his relationship is a close personal
Father-Son relationship. He and the Father are united in heart, mind, and will.
The mind of Jesus is the mind of God, and the words of Jesus are the words of
God.
The
unity of love and obedience
Jesus also states that his identity with the Father is based on complete trust and obedience. Jesus always did what his Father wanted him to do. His obedience was not just based on submission, but on love. He obeyed because he loved his Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is a unity of love - a total giving of oneself for the sake of another. That is why their mutual love for each other is perfect and complete. The Son loves the Father and gives himself in total obedience to the Father's will. The Father loves the Son and shares with him all that he is and has. We are called to submit our lives to God with the same love, trust, and obedience which Jesus demonstrated for his Father.
Jesus also states that his identity with the Father is based on complete trust and obedience. Jesus always did what his Father wanted him to do. His obedience was not just based on submission, but on love. He obeyed because he loved his Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is a unity of love - a total giving of oneself for the sake of another. That is why their mutual love for each other is perfect and complete. The Son loves the Father and gives himself in total obedience to the Father's will. The Father loves the Son and shares with him all that he is and has. We are called to submit our lives to God with the same love, trust, and obedience which Jesus demonstrated for his Father.
If
we wish to understand how God deals with sin and how he responds to our sinful
condition, then we must look to Jesus. Jesus took our sins upon himself and
nailed them to the cross. He, who is equal in dignity and stature with the
Father, became a servant for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin. He has
the power to forgive us and to restore our relationship with God because he
paid the price for our sins.
Jesus
offers us abundant, life, peace, and joy
Jesus states that to accept him is life - a life of abundant peace and joy with God. But if we reject him, then we freely choose for death - an endless separation with an all-loving and merciful God. Do you want the abundant life which Jesus offers? Believe in him, the living Word of God, who became a man for our sake and our salvation, and reject whatever is false and contrary to the Gospel - the good news he came to give us.
Jesus states that to accept him is life - a life of abundant peace and joy with God. But if we reject him, then we freely choose for death - an endless separation with an all-loving and merciful God. Do you want the abundant life which Jesus offers? Believe in him, the living Word of God, who became a man for our sake and our salvation, and reject whatever is false and contrary to the Gospel - the good news he came to give us.
"Lord
Jesus, increase my love for you and unite my heart and will with yours, that I
may only seek and desire what is pleasing to you."
A
Daily Quote for Lent: The
wonderful exchange, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Unless
the Word of God had first assumed our mortal flesh he could not have died for
us. Only in that way was the immortal God able to die and to give life to
mortal humans. Therefore, by this double sharing he brought about a wonderful
exchange. We made death possible for him, and he made life possible for
us." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, JOHN 5:17-30
Lenten Weekday
(Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalm 145)
Lenten Weekday
(Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalm 145)
KEY VERSE: "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work" (v.17).
TO KNOW: In Jesus' day, a son learned his trade by watching his father at work. Thus, Jesus learned carpentry from his earthly father, Joseph. Similarly, Jesus imitated his heavenly Father's creative and redemptive work. When Jesus was accused of violating the Sabbath law by healing a cripple (Jn 5:1-16), he declared that God's activity was ongoing. Jesus did not act on his own accord; he only did what the Father was doing. Jesus received divine power from the Father to exercise judgment and authority over life and death. Jesus' word brought healing and life to those who believed in the One who sent him, and condemnation to those who did not. At the last judgment, everyone who hears Jesus’ voice and obeys his word will be raised to eternal life.
TO LOVE: Do I reveal God's saving work by what I say and do?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to be a faithful child of your Father.
www.togetherwithgodsword.com
Wednesday 3 April 2019
Isaiah 49:8-15. Psalm 144(145):8-9, 13-14, 17-18. John 5:17-30.
The Lord is kind and merciful – Psalm 144(145):8-9, 13-14,
17-18.
‘I shall not forget you. I have engraved you on the palm of my
hand.’
Isaiah’s prayer is for all of us, but I would love those
heartfelt words to reach those who are struggling, whose lives seem devoid of
hope and possibility – refugees and asylum seekers, those beset by natural
disasters, the innocent victims of war and conflict.
In the gospel, Jesus shows himself to be the humble servant of
God. ‘By myself I can do nothing.’ He defers to his Father who ‘goes on
working, and I am working too’. They are partners. His enemies miss the point.
They criticise Jesus for inflating himself. But if we open our heart to the
words of Jesus, we see an intimate picture of a father-son relationship.
Jesus is the one who acts with the Father. May my communion with
him inspire how I live my life.
Saint Benedict the African
Saint of the Day for April 3
(1526 – 1589)
 |
| Statue of Saint Benedict the Moor | Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Benedict, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil | photo by Mateus Hidalgo |
Saint Benedict the African’s Story
Benedict held important posts in the Franciscan Order and
gracefully adjusted to other work when his terms of office were up.
His parents were slaves brought from Africa to Messina, Sicily.
Freed at 18, Benedict did farm work for a wage and soon saved enough to buy a
pair of oxen. He was very proud of those animals. In time, he joined a group of
hermits around Palermo and was eventually recognized as their leader. Because
these hermits followed the Rule of Saint Francis, Pope Pius IV ordered
them to join the First Order.
Benedict was eventually novice master and then guardian of the
friars in Palermo—positions rarely held in those days by a brother. In fact,
Benedict was forced to accept his election as guardian. And when his term
ended, he happily returned to his work in the friary kitchen.
Benedict corrected the friars with humility and charity. Once he
corrected a novice and assigned him a penance only to learn that the novice was
not the guilty party. Benedict immediately knelt down before the novice and asked
his pardon.
In later life, Benedict was not possessive of the few things he
used. He never referred to them as “mine,” but always called them “ours.” His
gifts for prayer and the guidance of souls earned him throughout Sicily a
reputation for holiness. Following the example of Saint Francis, Benedict kept seven 40-day fasts throughout
the year; he also slept only a few hours each night.
After Benedict’s death, King Philip III of Spain paid for a
special tomb for this holy friar. Canonized in 1807, he is honored as a patron
saint by African Americans. The Liturgical Feast of Saint Benedict the
African is April 4.
Reflection
Among Franciscans, a position of leadership is limited in time.
When the time expires, former leaders sometimes have trouble adjusting to their
new position. The Church needs men and women ready to put their best energies
into leadership—but also men and women who are gracefully willing to go on to
other work when their time of leadership is over.
Saint Benedict the African is the Patron Saint of:
African Americans
Lectio Divina: John 5:17-30
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Season of Lent
1) 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.
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.
2) 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."
3) 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 16:12-13). 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.
4) 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?
• “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?
5) 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)
slow to anger, full of faithful love.
Yahweh is generous to all;
His tenderness embraces all His creatures. (Ps 145:8-9)
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