Good News Reflection
Monday of Holy Week
April 14, 2014
Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 42:1-7
Psalm 27:1-3, 13-14
John 12:1-11
He shall bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)
The Servant’s mission, a stairway to heaven.
Meditation from The word among us
Today’s first reading is one of the four Songs of the Suffering Servant that appear in the Book of Isaiah. Christians from the very first generation have seen in him a foreshadowing of Jesus, the Messiah. The mission, even the very character, of this servant can give us so many insights into who Jesus is and why he suffered and died for us.
Key to the servant’s mission is the call to bring justice to the world. Of course, we can imagine this kind of justice as focusing on revenge, anger, and violence—a kind of vigilante justice. But that’s not the justice of God. His justice combines tenacity and strength with gentleness and compassion. It’s focused on caring for the weakest and hurting among us.
He is concerned not so much with holding each of us to account for every fault as he is with restoring to all of creation what was lost through sin. So in God’s justice, we are the prisoners who are set free; we are the blind whose eyes are opened; we are the poor hearing the good news. All because the Lord has freed us from the bonds of sin.
We’re not an onlooker; we are a participant. Jesus is about to take our sin upon him and restore us to your place as a beloved child of the Father. Take the words of this servant with us this week. Rejoice that our Savior is gentle and full of care. His eyes are fixed on the “bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks” in our life. He is mighty to save—to save us!
Jesus ministers to us, heals us, teaches us, dies with us and resurrects us. We meet Jesus and kiss his feet and anoint him with the perfume of our adoration.
May the Lord our salvation be the central of our life story not just of Holy Week but of our whole life!
++++++++++++++++++
The Servant’s mission, a stairway to heaven.
Mary Lorelie Vicedo Aquino
With bleeding heart I am crying to thee
Carrying all the hopes, my dreams, my faults
I am crying I am your servants my Lord
Please help me not to choose myself but you my Lord
Forgive me for all my imperfections and my limitations;
Father, please accept all my sacrifices to anoint your feet
Let my tears wash away all the dirt from it
Let my love kiss you with faith without fears
Bearing all I have for you my Lord and my King
For I believe, I am the prisoner who was set free;
I accept, I was the blind whose eyes were opened;
I concur, I am the poor hearing the good news;
All because the Lord has freed me from all my insecurities. Amen.
Isaiah 42:1-7
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,[a]
a light to the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
++++++++++
Prayer of the Soul
“Lord, thank you for the salvation that you have won for me through your death and resurrection. I am here my Lord, surrendering all that I hold, everyone I am praying for, those who praying for and everyone in your creation who are hungry, thirsty, needing all the blessings of life and your Spirit. Father, we all come to you surrendering this life. Let our sacrifices count for your glory. Let our hearts understand your love. Let our soul acknowledge your plans. Let us not forget to trust you and believe in your love for all of us. Father, we are your servants our God. Come to us and lead us to do what you are expecting us to do not as we please but you please our God. In your mighty heart we whisper all the pains the heart holds and let you take care of all of them. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints. In the mighty name of our Savior we plea and surrender this prayers. Amen. ”
In your Divine Plan we surrender, Let your strength be our strength, Your voice be our guide in all that we do today.
Leave a comment