A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah (49:8-15)
Thus says the Lord,
‘At the time of my good pleasure I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you.
I have formed you and have appointed you
as a covenant for the people,
to restore the land, to return desolated properties,
to say to prisoners, “Come out,”
to those who are in darkness, “Show yourselves.”
Along the roadside they will graze
and every bare height will be their pasture.
They will never hunger or thirst,
scorching wind and sun will never plague them;
for he who pities them will lead them,
will guide them to springs of water.
I shall turn all my mountains into a road
and my highways will be raised up.
Look! Here they come from afar;
look, these from the north and the west,
those from the land of Syene.’
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth!
Mountains, break into joyful cries!
For the Lord has consoled his people,
is taking pity on his afflicted ones.
Zion was saying,
‘The Lord has abandoned me,
my lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget the baby at her breast,
feel no love for the child of her womb?
Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you.
This passage could serve as a summary of the preaching of the Second Isaiah, great prophet of the exile, with the basic themes of restoration and liberation. God reestablishes his people, describing them as a ‘covenant’, for they will witness to God’s ‘salvation’. Freedom from captivity and from the darkness are announced. God provides pasture, and hunger and thirst are no more. God will lead them to springs of water. The landscape will be changed to allow for a smooth progress of the liberated people, joined by those ‘from afar’. Heaven and earth, and even the mountains, are called upon to rejoice. The Lord ‘has consoled’ them, and the prophet has faithfully brought this message (Isaiah 40). The lament that ‘the Lord has abandoned me, my lord has forgotten me’ is countered with the image of a mother and baby. The Lord reassures the people: ‘even if a mother were to forget, I shall not forget you.’
Psalm 145 (144) This celebration of the qualities of tenderness of the Lord is reminiscent of the words to Moses in Exodus 34:6, for the Lord is ‘slow to anger, rich in faithful love’.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (5:17-30)
Jesus answered them, ‘My Father still goes on working, and I am working, too.’ Therefore the Jews kept seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but also by calling God his own Father he was making himself equal to God. To this Jesus replied and said to them:
‘Amen, Amen I say to you,
on his own the Son can do nothing;
he can do only what he sees the Father doing,
and whatever the Father does the Son does likewise.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything he himself does,
and he will show him greater things than these,
so that you will be astonished.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so the Son also gives life to anyone he chooses.
Nor does the Father judge anyone;
he has given all judgement to the Son,
so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father.
Anyone who does not honour the Son
does not honour the Father who sent him.
Amen, Amen I say to you,
whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life and is not brought to judgement
but has passed over 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 it will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself;
and has granted him authority to give judgement
because he is the Son of man.
Do not be surprised at this, that the hour is coming
when all who are in their graves will hear the sound of his voice
and will come out, those who did good to the resurrection of life.
and those who did evil to the resurrection of judgement.
On my own I can do nothing.
As I hear, so I judge, and my judgement is just,
because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.’
Jesus speaks of the continuing ‘work’ of the Father, provoking further opposition: not only has he healed the paralysed man on the sabbath, but he has also called God his ‘father’. Jesus explains: ‘My Father goes on working, and I am working too.’ Just as the Father ‘raises the dead’, so does the Son give life, as has been illustrated by this latest sign. There is no day of rest from good deeds, and the sign worked on the sabbath extends to a wretched paralysed man God’s gift of freedom which is celebrated each week on the sabbath. Jesus goes on to speak of the judgement, which has been entrusted to the Son by the Father. Those who listen to the words of Jesus and believe in the ‘one who sent’ him, have eternal life and are not brought to judgement, but pass over from death to life. Jesus speaks of ‘the resurrection of life’ and ‘the resurrection of judgement’ (Daniel 12).
How can we join our good works to the work of God?
For those who work exclusively for selfish ends, we pray.