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Lent 2016

Week Five

With gratitude we trust in the mercy of God, he is our water of life.

First Reading

Isaiah 43: 16-21

Thus says the Lord,

who made a way through the sea,

a path in the great waters;

who put chariots and horse in the field

and a powerful army,

which lay there never to rise again,

snuffed out, put out like a wick:

No need to recall the past,

no need to think about what was done before.

See, I am doing a new deed,

even now it comes to light; can you not see it?

Yes, I am making a road in the wilderness, paths in the wilds.

The wild beasts will honour me,

jackals and ostriches,

because I am putting water in the wilderness (rivers in the wild)

to give my chosen people drink.

The people I have formed for myself will sing my praises.

There is hope for a tree that has been cut down: It can come back to life and sprout.

With water it will spout like a young plant. Psalm 14

Unlocking Isaiah 43: 16-21

No need to recall the past”: this seems odd for the people who, at God’s command,

celebrated Passover each year and told the story of their rescue from Egypt. The

answer seems to be in the next line: “See I am doing a new deed.” Through Isaiah

God was speaking to the Israelites downcast in captivity in Babylon. They needed

this fresh new action by God - the freedom to return to Jerusalem.

The past has many testaments to the greatness of God, and his people must

remember what he has done for them but not live in the past. He is the living God

and lives to make a difference every day to all his people’s lives; he has new plans

for everyone. He maybe doing something entirely new in our life.

Unfortunately it is more comfortable to think of what has passed than to have to

act in the present. We find it difficult to face some situations; we want to control

our lives. We can get stuck and not be able to travel ahead.

It is through God’s grace and mercy that we can move forward, facing each new

situation with strength and resolve, knowing he is with us. He is the waters of life

for those in the parched desert of life.

Time to Reflect

Often people are stuck in the past unable to move on. Name some of the times when and

reasons why this can happen. Have you had a moment when you have been

stuck and cannot move on?

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Psalm 125

The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,

it seemed like a dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

on our lips there were songs. R.

The heathens themselves said: 'What marvels

the Lord worked for them!'

What marvels the Lord worked for us!

Indeed we were glad. R.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage

as streams in dry land.

Those who are sowing in tears

will sing when they reap. R.

They go out, they go out, full of tears,

carrying seed for the sowing:

they come back, they come back, full of song,

carrying their sheaves. R.

Unlocking Psalm 125

The freedom from captivity in Babylon is needed. Those

returning from bondage are grateful, those still in

bondage are encouraged.

God’s mercy gladdens the heart so that we are brought

closer to him. Yet those who weep and live through of

affliction will bring in a harvest of joy.

Second Reading

Philippians 3: 8-14

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ

Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so

much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for

perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the

perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is

to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing

the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the

dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to

capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far

from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead

for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards

to receive in Christ Jesus.

Unlocking Philippians 3: 8-14

Paul had lost everything including his freedom because of his faith. He wrote many of

his letters while under house arrest in Rome.

He wrote to the members of the church in Philippi at a time when he was upset by the

opposition of some of the Christians towards himself and their false teaching about

Jesus Christ. He reminds the people of the church of the righteousness of Jesus Christ

and how true knowledge of Christ changes those who believe in him.

The true believer puts Christ before worldly things, for it is better to lose worldly

belongings than to lose Christ. Paul points out that all people are made complete when

they accept that Christ died and rose from the dead for them. He was also aware that

he could not gain a full relationship with God on his own merits, but only through the

merit, righteousness and grace of Jesus Christ. Paul saw himself repeating the journey

of Christ through death to a glorious resurrection in him.

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Gospel

John 8: 1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he

appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people

came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who

had been caught committing adultery; and making her

stand there in full view of everybody, they said to

Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act

of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in

the Law to condemn women like this to death by

stoning. What have you to say?' They asked him this as

a test, looking for something to use against him. But

Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground

with his finger. As they persisted with their question,

he looked up and said, 'If there is one of you who has

not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'

Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again.

When they heard this they went away one by one,

beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone

with the woman, who remained standing there. He

looked up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no

one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied.

'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus 'go away, and

don't sin any more.'

Time to Reflect

Each of us needs to be aware

of what we hang onto that

stands between us and God.

What do you think are the

things that you are find hard to

let go and let God sort out?

Gospel Acclamation

Praise to you, Lord Jesus

Christ, king of endless glory!

With your heart turn to me,

for I am tender and

compassionate.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus

Christ, king of endless glory!

Unlocking John 8: 1-11

Jesus neither found fault with the law, nor

excused the woman’s guilt.

Nor did he accept the pretended devotion of

the Pharisees.

In this matter Jesus attends to the great work

that he came to earth to do, that is, the

forgiveness of sins by saving not by destroying.

His aim was not to act as a judge but to bring

about a change through his act of mercy.

Tested by the Jewish religious authorities Jesus

creates space between himself and them.

Those who would snare him are invited to look

within themselves to find the sinner within,

then to step away.

When Jesus speaks to the woman after the

accusers have gone it is with a caution to “go

and not sin again”.

Jesus’ favour to us when he forgives past sins

should ring true with us, “Go then and sin no

more”. Jesus’ action was in fact revolutionary

replacing a barbaric practice by offering mercy

and the restoration of wholeness.

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Time to Reflect

As we come to the end of Lent and look to

the coming of Holy Week and the death and

resurrection of Jesus, have we reached out

for the forgiving mercy of God?

At Easter we will all be invited back to the

living waters of life, given to us through the

mercy and grace of God.

Spend time in reflection on what the

renewal of baptismal promises

means to you.

Prayer

[Instead of using this prayer you may like to say

the baptismal promises.]

Let us pray with sincere hearts:

I believe in God the Father almighty

I believe in his Son our Lord Jesus Christ,

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

In the forgiveness of Sins,

And in the grace and mercy of our Trinitarian God

who totally loves us.

Amen.

Action for the Week

As we come close to Passion (Palm) Sunday take time to look at what

the “passions” in this celebration tell us about the gifts we have been

given by Jesus.

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