Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent - March 17, 2021

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Isaiah 49:8-15 John 5:17-30

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is responding to the criticism of his fellow Jews that he is breaking the Sabbath. To put this reading into context, in the preceding passage, Jesus cured a paralytic on the Sabbath. His response to their criticism is that his Father is at work, so he is at work.

This passage reminds me of other passages in the Gospels where Jesus was criticised for not following the letter of the law as the religious leaders of his day thought it should be practiced. Jesus’ response was to tell his followers to balance the spirit of the law with the letter of the law.

I grew up in a traditional Catholic family where I was taught to follow the teachings of the Church, and if I didn’t, I was committing a sin. That was how my parents were raised and they raised their children the same way. I didn’t understand why I had to do it, only that I had to do it. As I grew older, as I started to understand the Church’s reasoning as to why things were right and wrong, it started to make sense to me. My life’s experiences have taught me that to practice my faith, I have to balance the letter of the law with the spirit of the law. Throughout my life, I have seen the positive results when we minister to one other and we see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and the negative results when we do not.

At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus references the resurrection in two different ways: those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life and those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation. Lent is a time for us to focus on the good deeds to the resurrection of life.

Q: As we continue our Lenten journey, are we following the letter of the law and going through the motions, or are we following the spirit of the law and making a sincere effort to have a closer relationship with God and with one another?

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