Reading I
Is 49:8-15
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.
Gospel
Jn 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.”
Meditation: Isaiah 49:8-15
Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Isaiah 49:15)
What a moving image of God and his love for us! Our God will never, ever forsake us. This would be amazing enough on its own, but let’s remember who we are: sinners who deserve condemnation, not mercy. Isn’t that wondrous? His love for us doesn’t change based on our behavior. No, he loves us simply because he made us and has bound himself to us eternally.
Think, too, about how different our love is when compared to God’s love. We can be happy one minute and angry the next. We love people more when they are kind to us, and we are indifferent to those who disregard us. And even with those we do love, there are some days when it is easier to love and some when it is harder.
God’s love is never subject to these kinds of ups and downs. He loves us when we fall on our faces. He loves us when we are not faithful to his commands. Quite frankly, he loves us when we are not very lovable!
This is not to say God doesn’t care about justice. The Israelites had tough times, but God never abandoned them. Even when he had to chastise them and let them face the consequences of their sins, he never gave up on them. He was always ready to take them back and start all over again. In some instances, God even used their misfortune to teach them and purify them all the more.
Why is God’s love so constant? Well, because he is God, of course. But also because he sees a much bigger picture than we do. God never takes his eyes off his goal for us: to make us into vessels of honor, fit to be filled with his own divine life. He can be patient with us because he has all eternity to work with us. He will never give up on his people!
“Father, please show me your love more deeply today. My idea of love can be so limited, so please break through the boundaries I have set up. I want nothing more, Father, than to be filled with your life.”
No comments:
Post a Comment