Memory of Jesus crucified

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Isaiah 48,17-19

Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Yahweh your God and teach you for your own good, I lead you in the way you ought to go. If only you had listened to my commandments! Your prosperity would have been like a river and your saving justice like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been numbered like the sand, your offspring as many as its grains. Their name would never be cancelled or blotted out from my presence.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The prophet reminds the people of Israel who are easily prey to the temptation of distancing themselves from the Lord and seeking other paths, that it is God who guides them on the way of salvation. Today we all experience, as Israel then, how life is difficult when it is lived far from God. The weakest and the poor know this best, as they pay the bitter price of being cast aside and abandoned at the margins of life. God is close to his people, accompanies them, and asks to be recognized and loved. But when we get used to living unaware of God's presence, We easily give in to a dull and violent life. The Lord turns to us: "O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea." We need to go back and listen to the Word of God and see the signs of the presence of the Lord in our days, in our communities, and in our societies and let the Lord guide our steps. We will be sure that he will guide us effectively on the path of love and peace. Through his Word that the Lord never fails to send us, the Lord continues to speak to us so that we can discern his way in our days: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go" (v. 17). Faithfulness to listening to the Word of God is a blessing for our lives.