Upload
others
View
1
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Lent 2016
Week Five
With gratitude we trust in the mercy of God, he is our water of life.
First Reading
Isaiah 43: 16-21
Thus says the Lord,
who made a way through the sea,
a path in the great waters;
who put chariots and horse in the field
and a powerful army,
which lay there never to rise again,
snuffed out, put out like a wick:
No need to recall the past,
no need to think about what was done before.
See, I am doing a new deed,
even now it comes to light; can you not see it?
Yes, I am making a road in the wilderness, paths in the wilds.
The wild beasts will honour me,
jackals and ostriches,
because I am putting water in the wilderness (rivers in the wild)
to give my chosen people drink.
The people I have formed for myself will sing my praises.
There is hope for a tree that has been cut down: It can come back to life and sprout.
With water it will spout like a young plant. Psalm 14
Unlocking Isaiah 43: 16-21
No need to recall the past”: this seems odd for the people who, at God’s command,
celebrated Passover each year and told the story of their rescue from Egypt. The
answer seems to be in the next line: “See I am doing a new deed.” Through Isaiah
God was speaking to the Israelites downcast in captivity in Babylon. They needed
this fresh new action by God - the freedom to return to Jerusalem.
The past has many testaments to the greatness of God, and his people must
remember what he has done for them but not live in the past. He is the living God
and lives to make a difference every day to all his people’s lives; he has new plans
for everyone. He maybe doing something entirely new in our life.
Unfortunately it is more comfortable to think of what has passed than to have to
act in the present. We find it difficult to face some situations; we want to control
our lives. We can get stuck and not be able to travel ahead.
It is through God’s grace and mercy that we can move forward, facing each new
situation with strength and resolve, knowing he is with us. He is the waters of life
for those in the parched desert of life.
Time to Reflect
Often people are stuck in the past unable to move on. Name some of the times when and
reasons why this can happen. Have you had a moment when you have been
stuck and cannot move on?
2
Psalm 125
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs. R.
The heathens themselves said: 'What marvels
the Lord worked for them!'
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad. R.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap. R.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves. R.
Unlocking Psalm 125
The freedom from captivity in Babylon is needed. Those
returning from bondage are grateful, those still in
bondage are encouraged.
God’s mercy gladdens the heart so that we are brought
closer to him. Yet those who weep and live through of
affliction will bring in a harvest of joy.
Second Reading
Philippians 3: 8-14
I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so
much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for
perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the
perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is
to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing
the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the
dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to
capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far
from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead
for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards
to receive in Christ Jesus.
Unlocking Philippians 3: 8-14
Paul had lost everything including his freedom because of his faith. He wrote many of
his letters while under house arrest in Rome.
He wrote to the members of the church in Philippi at a time when he was upset by the
opposition of some of the Christians towards himself and their false teaching about
Jesus Christ. He reminds the people of the church of the righteousness of Jesus Christ
and how true knowledge of Christ changes those who believe in him.
The true believer puts Christ before worldly things, for it is better to lose worldly
belongings than to lose Christ. Paul points out that all people are made complete when
they accept that Christ died and rose from the dead for them. He was also aware that
he could not gain a full relationship with God on his own merits, but only through the
merit, righteousness and grace of Jesus Christ. Paul saw himself repeating the journey
of Christ through death to a glorious resurrection in him.
3
Gospel
John 8: 1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he
appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people
came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who
had been caught committing adultery; and making her
stand there in full view of everybody, they said to
Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act
of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in
the Law to condemn women like this to death by
stoning. What have you to say?' They asked him this as
a test, looking for something to use against him. But
Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground
with his finger. As they persisted with their question,
he looked up and said, 'If there is one of you who has
not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'
Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again.
When they heard this they went away one by one,
beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone
with the woman, who remained standing there. He
looked up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no
one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied.
'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus 'go away, and
don't sin any more.'
Time to Reflect
Each of us needs to be aware
of what we hang onto that
stands between us and God.
What do you think are the
things that you are find hard to
let go and let God sort out?
Gospel Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ, king of endless glory!
With your heart turn to me,
for I am tender and
compassionate.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus
Christ, king of endless glory!
Unlocking John 8: 1-11
Jesus neither found fault with the law, nor
excused the woman’s guilt.
Nor did he accept the pretended devotion of
the Pharisees.
In this matter Jesus attends to the great work
that he came to earth to do, that is, the
forgiveness of sins by saving not by destroying.
His aim was not to act as a judge but to bring
about a change through his act of mercy.
Tested by the Jewish religious authorities Jesus
creates space between himself and them.
Those who would snare him are invited to look
within themselves to find the sinner within,
then to step away.
When Jesus speaks to the woman after the
accusers have gone it is with a caution to “go
and not sin again”.
Jesus’ favour to us when he forgives past sins
should ring true with us, “Go then and sin no
more”. Jesus’ action was in fact revolutionary
replacing a barbaric practice by offering mercy
and the restoration of wholeness.
4
Time to Reflect
As we come to the end of Lent and look to
the coming of Holy Week and the death and
resurrection of Jesus, have we reached out
for the forgiving mercy of God?
At Easter we will all be invited back to the
living waters of life, given to us through the
mercy and grace of God.
Spend time in reflection on what the
renewal of baptismal promises
means to you.
Prayer
[Instead of using this prayer you may like to say
the baptismal promises.]
Let us pray with sincere hearts:
I believe in God the Father almighty
I believe in his Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
In the forgiveness of Sins,
And in the grace and mercy of our Trinitarian God
who totally loves us.
Amen.
Action for the Week
As we come close to Passion (Palm) Sunday take time to look at what
the “passions” in this celebration tell us about the gifts we have been
given by Jesus.
©.nick-scheerbart.com/ Unsplash