Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 29, 2017.
1st Reading: Book of Isaiah 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. The word of the Lord
Responsorial Ps:145(144):8-9.13cd-14.17-18
R/. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Holy Gospel: John 5:17-30.
Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.” For this reason the Jews 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, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also. For the Father loves his 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 his 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 his 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.” The gospel of the Lord.
SATURDAY REFLECTIONS:
At the heart of this passage is the unity of the Father and the Son. The verses following this passage reveal even more clearly that the Father and the Son are one and that Jesus’ whole life is caught up in the fulfillment of the will of the Father. It is precisely this oneness of will that brings about their unity. This reveals much to us about the relationship of the Father and the Son, and it also reveals much to us about our own relationship with the Father and the Son. First of all, the Father and the Son are distinct Persons, each possessing a perfect intellect and will. However, their oneness came about through the fact that their minds were in perfect harmony, knowing all things equally, and perfectly believing what they know. As a result of their perfect shared knowledge, they both embraced every detail of the plan of the Father as it was laid out from the foundation of the world.
As for us, we can take from this understanding of the unity of the Father and the Son, the glorious lesson on how we enter into unity with God. This happens first by seeking the mind of God. We must probe the glorious mysteries contained therein and must make them our own knowledge. Second, we must believe what we come to know through an act of our will. As we discover the truth, we must choose it for our lives. The challenge is that there are numerous competing voices vying for our attention. As we sort through them, choosing only that which God reveals, we naturally become attracted to the mind and will of God and make them our own. In this act we also become one with God.
Pray with me: Father in Heaven, I thank You for the gift of Jesus Your Son and I thank You for the unity that you both share. Draw me into that glorious unity established by Your minds and wills. Make me one with You so that You also are my Father. Father in Heaven, Jesus the Son, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.