Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 244
Reading 1IS 65:17-21
Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
God spoke to Isaiah and said, "I am about to create a new heaven and new earth. The past will be forgotten. And everyone will be happy."
That sounds like a reference to heaven. St. Peter says:
2 Peter 3:12-14
King James Version (KJV)
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Notice that St. Peter says we must be found righteous on that day. The obvious message is that if we are not found righteous, we will miss the boat.
For I create Jerusalem to be a joyGod continues, "I make Jerusalem to be a good place and the people of Jerusalem to be good people. I will celebrate in Jerusalem and exult in my people."
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
I think God is still using Jerusalem as a synonym for heaven. And speaks as though He is still creating that heavenly city. St. Paul says:
Hebrews 12:22
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
In this sense then, Jerusalem is also a synonym for the Church.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,And God concludes, "There will be no more weeping there. Every man will grow old and a man will still be young at 100 years. If he does not live to be a hundred, he will be considered a sinner. Everyone will live in their own house and eat of their own fruit." And Scripture says elsewhere:
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.
Revelation 21:4
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And that is a description of heaven.
Responsorial PsalmPS 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B
R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clearand did not let my enemies rejoice over me.O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.Because you have saved me, I will glorify your name, my God.
You protected me Lord, you saved me and brought me from the abyss. Therefore I will extol your name forever.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,All of you who have faith in God, sing out in thanksgiving.
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Because He is forgiving. When darkness falls, we cry. But when the sun rises, we rejoice.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
God have mercy upon me and help me. You have wiped the tears from my eyes and I rejoice. I will give you thanks forever.
GospelJN 4:43-54
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.Jesus then left Samaria and headed to Galilee, His home. There, He had previously said that a prophet is not recognized at home. But the Galileans had heard of his exploits and had a great celebration when He arrived there.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast.
Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,Then Jesus went to Cana. A royal official from Capernaum came to him to ask for help. His son was dying. He asked Jesus come and to cure him.
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
Jesus seemed to think that this was a test. Or perhaps He was testing the official. So He said, "Unless you people see miracles, you don't believe." But the official insisted, "Please save my child." And Jesus said, "Go back, your son is cured."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.The man believed Jesus and headed back home. On his way back, his slaves met him and gave him the good news that his son was cured. He asked when it had happened. And they said, "yesterday afternoon." He realized this was when Jesus had said, "Your son is cured." Therefore, he and his whole family believed in Jesus.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,“Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe.
This was the second miracle which Jesus produced in Galilee.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for contributing.