March 24, 2004 - Wednesday, 4th Week of Lent

MY FATHER AND I ARE STILL WORKING

Readings:
Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18; Jn 5:17-30

Introduction

When Jesus is questioned and blamed for curing a paralyzed man on a Sabbath, Jesus says how he is like the Father. Yes, after the work of creation, God rested on the seventh day. But the work of redemption is going on, the Father and Jesus are always at work, even on a Sabbath. Both continue the work of liberation, comforting and loving, bringing abundant nourishment to the chosen people, raising up, all expressions of the work of salvation. God passionately declares that he is with us, that he cannot forget us, that he wants us to live in his love, that he is faithful to his covenant even if his chosen people are not. Jesus is the sign of God's love. He is the source of life now among us. With Jesus, we have to seek the Father's will.

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.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: 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.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 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.

Gospel Reading: Jn 5:17-30

Jesus said to the Jews, "My Father goes on working and so do I." And the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made himself equal with God, calling him his own Father.

Jesus said to them, "Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by himself, but only what he sees the Father do. And whatever he does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.
"As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom he wills. In the same way the Father judges no one, for he has entrusted all judgment to the Son, and he wants all to honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father who sent him.

"Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; and there is no judgment for him because he has passed from death to life. Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in himself and he has given to the Son also to have life in himself. And he has empowered him as well to carry out Judgment, for he is a son of man.

"Do not be surprised at this: the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear my voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
"I can do nothing of myself, and I need to hear Another One to judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me."

Commentary

IN his "Meditation on the Holy Trinity Icon of Roublev," the Russian theologian Paul Evdokimov wrote:

"They are sitting all together at the same table, drinking from the same cup. They share the same meal.
A meal: this quite ordinary daily family reality, at which the father gives the fruit of his work and toil to his children, day after day, to make them live more fully and grow up, and become as it were others who are himself.

'As the Son lives by the Father, he who eats me will live by me.'
The three Persons are united by the possession of a secret. This secret is their relationship, their love. The how and why of this love will never be deciphered, never wholly uncovered. It is an incommunicable secret and fullness, which they communicate. What the three Persons give and communicate to one another is the depth of their being. This sharing makes a communion that no human sharing can achieve. This gift is the sharing of what each one has that is beautiful, true and luminous.

Gazing at the three faces raises the question, 'Who are they? What are they saying?'
And we, in our silence, can perceive something of this secret."

General Intercessions

- For those who dare not accept that God keeps loving them as deeply as an affectionate father or mother, we pray:

- For people living under oppression, that they may have the will, the courage and the means to become free again, we pray:

- For those who are poor and suffering and cry out for joy and a bit of happiness, that the Lord may hear their prayer, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Our God and Father,
we bring this bread and this wine before you
as the signs that we share
in the offering of Jesus, your Son.
May he give us the strength
to accept our mission in life.
As he was loyal to your will,
may our wills too
be in complete harmony with yours,
that we may live in your love
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father,
your Son Jesus has renewed in his blood
your covenant of life and love with us
and deepened the bond
with you and with all the covenant people.
May we listen to his words of life,
that we may pass from death to life
and grow to the full maturity
of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.

Blessing

No one can say, "God has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." As a mother cannot forget the baby at her breast, God can never forget us. May God bless you, that Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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