Wednesday of 4th week of Lent 9th March 2016
“In truth I tell you, by Himself the Son can do nothing ; he can do only what he sees the Father doing; and whatever the Father does, the Son does too.”
Is.49;8-15 Ps.144 Jn.5,17-30
“After having healed the a paralysed man, Jesus declared to the Jews, ’My Father, up until now is always at work, and I too am always at work.’ But that only made the Jews more intent on killing him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself God’s equal. To this Jesus replied ’ In all truth I tell you, by himself the Son can do nothing; he can do only what he sees the Father doing : and whatever the Father does the Son does too. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, ad he will show him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you.”
The Jews are seeking to put Jesus to death more and more. Jesus takes up the Word :
Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, came to join humanity in the places where it was the most devastated, where we believe that all that is left is nothing but desolation.
Jesus regenerates humanity giving to each one the experience that he is loved by God and that it is He Himself who guides him in the secret of his heart.
The poor and the little ones become a blessing for Jesus in the welcome he gives to them. Jesus comes to the help of those who are humiliated, rejected, excluded, those who are poor, those who are not taken into consideration. He accomplishes God’s Word : ’Heavens, cry out with Joy, let the earth exult! Mountains, burst with cries of joy! The Lord consoles His people.“Observation of the Sabbath was prescribed to the Jews to prefigure the spiritual rest that God promised to the faithful who would do good works.”Thus as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses ; for the Father judges no one ; he has entrusted all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever refuses honour to the Son refuses honour to the Father who sent him. In all truth I tell you, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me, has eternal life ; without being brought to judgement
such a person has passed from death to life. In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming –indeed it is already here- when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live."
The power of the Creature, the strength of the all Powerful One, is the cause by which all creatures subsist.
As we follow Jesus who reveals the Love of the Father, we follow Jesus at the risk of being set aside, for we accomplish a path of a regeneration for humanity!
Jesus will be condemned by the Jews because He accomplishes the good come from the Father. It will be the motivation of his condemnation : ’He says that God is his own father.’ Jesus doesn’t deny this declaration : ’Amen, amen, I say unto you ,the Son can do nothing by himself.’
God’s work will be manifested at the Resurrection, in the victory of Love over death, and the light of the Risen Lord Jesus will shine forth as bright as day : ’I have set you aside, I have destined you to be the man of my covenant to be rebuilt.’
“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself ; and, because he is the Son of man, has granted him power to give judgement. Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice ; those who did good will come forth to life ; and those who did evil will come forth to judgement. By myself I can do nothing ; I can judge only as I am told to judge, and my judging Is just, because I seek not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
We wish to contemplate Jesus in his immense solitude-when he comes to Jerusalem He is going to transform the world by taking upon himself this solitary path.
He accomplishes the Salvation of humanity by healing it from its discord. And so people despise him as if an imposter, so he will be set aside and He, the Saviour of the world, will be crucified.
There will just be some women and Jesus’ mother Mary at the foot of the Cross, with Saint John. In order to follow Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, we ask for the grace of the Holy Spirit who teaches us strength and Light.
Jesus is the light that freed humanity, paralysed by fear of death, and He gives back the original meaning of the Sabbath which is deliverance.
As the Father has life in Himself, thus did he give to the Son to have life in himself : ’I can do nothing by myself ; I give back my judgement according to what I hear, and this judgement is right, because I do not seek to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.
We ask for the grace to discover with Jesus the suffering of humanity so as to bring it salvation by the Cross of Jesus.
406. Mercredi de la 4ième semaine de Carême : Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent
WEDNESDAY of the FORTH WEEK of LENT
Wednesday 18th March 2015
Forth Week of Lent : Wednesday of the Forth week of Lent
“Jesus said :”My Father is at work and I am at work, too.’ But that only made the Jews even more intent on killing Him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself God’s equal.To this Jesus replied : ’ In all truth I tell you, by Himself the Son can do nothing; he can only do what he sees the Father doing: and whatever the Father does, the Son does too.. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, and he will show him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you.’ “
Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to join humanity in the most devastated zones there where we believed only desolation remained. “Jerusalem said : The Lord has abandoned me. The Lord has forgotten me. Could a mother forget her own child and even if she did forget, I, the Lord will never forget you!”Out of this ”abandon“of the image of God in man’s humanity, God will make all things new. Jesus regenerates humanity, giving to each one an experience of being loved by God, we can be certain that He guides each one in the secret of their heart. The poor and little ones appear like a curse in the eyes of mankind, but with Jesus they become a blessing when they are welcomed. “The Father loves the Son, He shows to Him everything He does.”Jesus comes to help those who are humiliated, rejected, excluded, poor, those no one considers who are put aside, He accomplishes the Word of God :” Heavens, cry out for Joy; let the earth exult! Mountains, exalt in cries of joy! The Lord consoles his people! “St Augustin tells us :”We would like to explain to you the Gospel of the Lord, through everything that has been done ,He says “My Father is at present at work and I too am at work…” The observation of the Sabbath was prescribed for the Jews as a prefiguration for the spiritual rest promised to the faithful accomplishing good works. "Rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Confirmed the mystery by his burial. For it was the day of the Sabbath that he remained in the tomb, when he had consumed all his works…”
“Thus as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses; for the Father judges no-one he has entrusted all judgment to the Son, so that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever refuses honour to the Son refuses honour to the Father who sent him.In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming- indeed it is already here- when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, for all who hear it will live…”
The power of the Creator, the strength of the All powerful, is the cause in which all creatures subsist…It is not the same thing for God as with an architect : the house is unfinished, the architect goes away. The work subsists; on the contrary, the world could not exist, without God, in the winking of an eye the world might not continue to exist, without His help..“( St Augustin) Jesus shows his Love for the Father and we follow Jesus at our own risk, of being set aside in this way as Jesus was we follow Jesus and accomplish a work of regeneration of humanity! It is a way that leads to Life. Jesus will be condemned by the Jews for having taken part in the works of the Father’s Love. It will be the motive of his condemnation :”He said that God is his own Father. “Jesus does not deny this.”Amen I say to you, the Father can do nothing by himself. “The work of God will show itself in the Resurrection, in the victory of Love over death, the Light of the Risen Lord will shine in daylight :” I have place you apart, I have destined you to be the man of my Covenant in order to build things up. “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself ; and because he is the Son of man, has granted him power to give judgement. Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice : those who did good will come forth to life; and those who did evil will come forth to judgement.”
By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because I seek not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me."
Here we contemplate Jesus in an immense solitude arriving in Jerusalem. Walking a path of solitude, he transforms the world. Only a handful of women, amongst them, Mary, his Mother, and John, will be there with him at the foot of the Cross. Jesus accomplishes Salvation, healing humanity from its discord. They are wary of him, taking him for an imposter, he will be put into quarantine, , be crucified, He, the Saviour of the world. “The Jews wanted to put him to death because he was breaking the Sabbath day and called God his own Father.” In order to follow Jesus on the path to Jerusalem, we ask for the Holy Spirit who teaches us to find in Him strength and light. He is the light that freed humanity, paralyzed by the fear of death, and Jesus gives once again to the Sabbath its original meaning of humanity’s deliverance. “At present my Father is at work and I too am at work.”