FIRST
READING: Isaiah 49: 8 - 15
8
Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in
a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the
desolate heritages;
9
saying to the prisoners, `Come forth,' to those who are in darkness,
`Appear.' They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall
be their pasture;
10
they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall
smite them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by
springs of water will guide them.
11
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be
raised up.
12
Lo, these shall come from afar, and lo, these from the north and from
the west, and these from the land of Syene."
13
Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O
mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and
will have compassion on his afflicted.
14
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten
me."
15
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no
compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will
not forget you.
PSALM: Psalms 145: 8 - 9, 13 - 14, 17 - 18
8
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love.
9
The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has
made.
13
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures
throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
14
The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed
down.
17
The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18
The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him
in truth.
GOSPEL: John 5: 17 - 30
17
But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still, and I am
working."
18
This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not
only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself
equal with God.
19
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing;
for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise.
20
For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is
doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may
marvel.
21
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the
Son gives life to whom he will.
22
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
23
that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who
does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who
sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has
passed from death to life.
25
"Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is,
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who
hear will live.
26
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also
to have life in himself,
27
and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the
Son of man.
28
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the
tombs will hear his voice
29
and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of
life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.
30
"I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and
my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of
him who sent me.
