Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you, 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.
Psalms 145(144),8-9.13-14.17-18.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love.
The LORD is good to all, compassionate to every creature.
Your reign is a reign for all ages, your dominion for all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in every word, and faithful in every work.
The LORD supports all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
You, LORD, are just in all your ways, faithful in all your works.
You, LORD, are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you in truth.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 5,17-30.
But Jesus answered them, "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.
SHOW AND TELL
"The Father loves the Son and everything the Father does He shows Him." –John 5:20
A home-schooling father once quoted the above Scripture verse in a talk to a group of fathers. He said that, as a father, he has tried to imitate God the Father by loving his sons and daughters and showing them everything he does, as much as possible.
God delivered King Hezekiah from terminal illness and granted him fifteen extra years of life (Is 38:5). Hezekiah seemed to understand God's purpose for his extra years, saying: "Fathers declare to their sons, O God, Your faithfulness" (Is 38:19). Three years later, he fathered a son named Manasseh (2 Kgs 21:1). Hezekiah had twelve years left to live, but he put his energies into his projects. He proudly showed his political allies everything (see 2 Kgs 20:13, 15). Sadly, he didn't show much or "declare God's faithfulness" to his young son. Hezekiah died, and Manasseh took over the kingdom at age twelve (2 Kgs 21:1). This boy was king for fifty-five years, and was one of the most evil kings Israel ever had (2 Kgs 21:11, 16). By contrast, St. Joseph quietly spent His life loving his Foster-Son Jesus and showing Him everything he did. Jesus grew up to be the greatest "King of the Jews" (Jn 19:19), the King of kings (Rv 19:16).
"Fathers, do not anger your children" (Eph 6:4). It's tempting for a father to take the easy way out and yell at his children. Instead, fathers are called to invest their lives patiently bringing their children "up with the training and instruction befitting the Lord" (Eph 6:4). Fathers are not to nag children, since they might lose heart (Col 3:21). A child wants his father to show him the ropes. He can lose heart when his busy father hands him a "how-to" video.
Odes of Solomon (a Hebrew Christian text from the beginning of the 2nd century)
No. 42 (trans. J.H. Charlesworth)
[Christ speaks:]
I became useless to those who knew me not,
Because I shall hide myself from those who possessed me not.
And I will be with those
Who love me.
All my persecutors have died,
and they who trusted in me sought me, because I am living.
Then I arose and am with them, and will speak by their mouths.
For they have rejected those who persecute them; and I threw over them the yoke of my love.
Like the arm of the bridegroom over the bride, so is my yoke over those who know me.
And as the bridal feast is spread out by the bridal pair's home, so is my love by those who believe in me.
I was not rejected although I was considered to be so, and I did not perish although they thought it of me.
Sheol saw me and was shattered,
and Death ejected me and many with me.
I have been vinegar and bitterness to it,
and I went down with it as far as its depth.
Then the feet and the head it released,
because it was not able to endure my face.
And I made a congregation of living among his dead (1 Pt 3,19; 4,6);
and I spoke with them by living lips,
in order that my word may not fail.
And those who had died ran toward me;
and they cried out and said, "Son of God, have pity on us.
"And deal with us according to your kindness, and bring us out from the chains of darkness.
"And open for us the door
by which we may go forth to you,
for we perceive that our death does not approach you.
"May we also be saved with you, because you are our Savior. "
Then I heard their voice,
and placed their faith in my heart.
And I placed my name upon their head, because they are free and they are mine.
Alleluia!
No comments:
Post a Comment