First Reading (Isaiah 49,8-15)
Reading of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
This says the Lord: “I answer your requests with favors and help you in the work of salvation; I have preserved you to be a link of covenant between the peoples, to restore the land, to distribute the scattered inheritance; to say to those who are in prison, ‘Come out!’ and to those who are in darkness: ‘Show yourselves.’ And they all feed on the roads and even on the barren hills they are supplied; they do not feel hunger or thirst, neither the heat nor the sun punishes them, because their protector takes care of them and leads them to the waters. I will make all the mountains a road and my paths will be level. Praise, O heavens, rejoice, earth; mountains, make praise resound, for the Lord comforts his people and has compassion on the poor. Zion said: ‘The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me!’ Can a woman forget her little child, to the point of not having pity for the fruit of her womb? But if she forgets, I will not forget you.”
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (John 5,17-30)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John.
— Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, Jesus answered the Jews: “My Father always works, therefore I also work.” Then, the Jews sought even more to kill him, because, in addition to violating the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thus making himself equal to God. Taking the floor, Jesus said to the Jews: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing on his own; he only does what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does also. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does. And he will show him even greater works, so that you will be amazed. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whomever he wants. Indeed, the Father judges no one, but he gave to the Son the power to judge, so that everyone may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Verily, verily, I say to you, the hour is coming, and has come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it. hear, they will live. For just as the Father possesses life in himself, so he granted the Son to possess life in himself. Furthermore, he gave him the power to judge, for he is the Son of Man. Do not be surprised at this, because the time will come when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son and will come out: those who have done good will rise to life; and those who have done evil, to condemnation. I can’t do anything for myself. I judge according to what I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.”
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Have you ever observed a mother with her newborn baby? The way she looks at him, with a mixture of admiration, protection and infinite love? How does she seem to instinctively know the meaning of every cry, of every movement? How, even exhausted after sleepless nights, does she still find the strength to cradle her son tenderly? This deep and unshakable bond between mother and child offers us one of the most beautiful images of God’s love for us, as the prophet Isaiah reveals to us in today’s first reading.
“Can a woman forget the child she breastfeeds? Not have affection for the fruit of her womb? And even if she did, I would never forget you.” What an extraordinary promise! God is telling us that His love for us is even stronger, more constant, more unfailing than motherly love in its purest expression.
This image of God’s motherly love appears in an important context. The people of Israel are in exile, feeling abandoned and forgotten. “The Lord has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me,” they lament. How many times have we felt this way too? When illness comes without warning, when a relationship breaks down, when we lose a job or face a financial crisis, when we pray fervently and heaven seems silent… it’s so easy to conclude, “God has forgotten me.”
But Isaiah offers us a powerful response to this feeling of abandonment. Not only has God not forgotten us, but He has our names engraved in the palms of His hands. What a powerful image! We are not just a number in the crowd, a statistic, one case among millions. We are known by name, carried continually before the eyes of God.
And the Lord doesn’t just remind us; He acts in our favor! “In the favorable time I heard you; in the day of salvation I helped you.” God is a God who intervenes, who restores, who frees prisoners, who guides the lost, who feeds the hungry. Your compassion translates into concrete action in our lives.
This image of God as a loving and provident father naturally leads us to today’s Gospel, where Jesus reveals his unique relationship with the Father and, by extension, how this relationship transforms our own connection with God.
“My Father works even now, and I work too.” With these seemingly simple words, Jesus makes a revolutionary statement. By calling God “my Father” in such an intimate way and by drawing a parallel between his own work and the divine work, Jesus is asserting his equality with God – a scandalous concept to his Jewish listeners, for whom God’s oneness and transcendence were fundamental truths.
But Jesus goes further. He describes a relationship of deep intimacy and communion with the Father: “The Son can do nothing of himself; he does only what he sees the Father doing.” Imagine the proximity needed to “see” what the Father is doing! This is not a distant or formal relationship, but a constant and deep communion.
And most surprising: Jesus invites us to participate in this same intimacy with the Father. When He says, “What the Father does, so does the Son,” He is setting a standard for us, His followers. As adopted sons and daughters of God, we are called to observe the Father, to learn from him, to follow in his footsteps.
But there is something even deeper here. Jesus continues: “The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does.” The foundation of this relationship is not power or authority, but love. It is the Father’s love that motivates his revelation to the Son; It is the love of the Son that inspires his obedience to the Father.
In this Gospel, Jesus also reveals to us the extent of the power that the Father entrusted to him: “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whomever he wishes.” And not just physical life, but eternal life! “Whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life… he has passed from death to life.”
What an extraordinary promise! Eternal life is not just a future reality, something we hope for after physical death. It is a quality of life that begins now, the moment we open our hearts to the word of Christ and place our faith in the Father who sent him.
My dear brothers and sisters, these readings invite us to reflect on our relationship with God. How do we perceive God in our lives? Like a distant judge, just observing and evaluating our mistakes? As an impersonal force, indifferent to our sufferings? Or as Isaiah and Jesus reveal it – a loving Father who knows us by name, who never forgets us, who wants to share his own life with us?
If we could truly believe and internalize this truth – that God loves us more deeply than a mother loves her nursing child – how would it transform our lives? How would it change our approach to prayer, our coping with suffering, our confidence in the future?
When we face difficulties, perhaps we can remember the words of Isaiah: “Can a woman forget her baby? Have no affection for the child she has borne? Even if she forgot him, I would not forget you.” When we feel incapable or unworthy, perhaps we can remember that Jesus invites us to share his own relationship with the Father—a relationship of love, trust, and intimate communion.
And just as Jesus constantly sought to do the will of the Father, we can ask ourselves: How can I today, in my specific circumstances, do the will of God? How can I, in my family, in my work, in my community, be a reflection of the Father’s love? How can I, in Isaiah’s words, help “reclaim the land and distribute the abandoned possessions,” bringing hope and restoration to the broken places and people around me?
May we today renew our trust in this God who is simultaneously all-powerful and intimately loving. May we truly believe that our names are engraved in the palms of your hands. And may we, like Jesus, live in constant communion with the Father, hearing his voice, following his steps, and sharing his love with a world that so desperately needs to know him.
And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
