Latin Rite Readings:
Isaiah 49:8-15
John 5:17-30
Excerpts from Readings: Isaiah 49:8-15 and John 5:17-30
"In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!"
"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."
"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."
(read the full passages here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031313.cfm)
Reflection
750 years before our Lord came in the flesh, He told us through the prophet Isaiah what he tells when He walked as one among us, proclaiming it again, and again to be definitive.
It has become clear to us that the Lord has "kept us." As He is the New Covenant for us, we are given "as a covenant to the people" to "restore the land" and do "good deeds" until The Day of our resurrection by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation.
Who are the many that we have been given for, if not our parents, siblings, children, friends, neighbors, coworkers?
To anyone imprisoned by sin He says "Come out!” to the desperate He affirms, "I will never forget you."
If these are the words that pour forth from the heart of the One given for us, then as disciples called to live in His image and likeness, we have found the attitude we should have to those we are given to.