Daily Readings - Mon Mar 28 2022
Isaiah
17"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.20No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.21They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
John
43After the two days he departed for Galilee.44(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)45So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.46So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.47When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.48So Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."49The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies."50Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.51As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.52So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."53The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." And he himself believed, and all his household.54This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
Sermon
The readings today invite us to reflect on the themes of hope, renewal, and the power of faith. In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear a beautiful vision of a new creation, where sorrow and suffering are replaced by joy and exultation. God promises a world where the former things will no longer be remembered, and His people will dwell in peace and happiness. This passage is part of Isaiah’s prophetic vision of restoration, spoken to a people who had endured exile and hardship. It reminds us that God’s plan is one of renewal and that His ultimate desire is to bring His people into a state of eternal joy.
In the Gospel, we see this hope taking shape in the life of a father who seeks Jesus’ help for his dying son. Despite initial doubts, the man places his trust in Jesus’ word, and his son is healed. This miracle, the second sign in John’s Gospel, underscores the importance of faith and trust in God’s word. Just as the official believed Jesus even before seeing the miracle, we are called to trust in God’s promises, even when we cannot see the outcome. Both readings remind us that faith is not about seeing signs but about trusting in God’s plan and His timing.
As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: Where do I place my trust? Am I willing to believe even when the road ahead is uncertain? The promise of a new creation and the healing of the official’s son invite us to live with hope and faith. May we, like the father in the Gospel, entrust our lives and our struggles to God, knowing that He is always at work, even when we cannot see it. Let us allow His word to guide us and His Spirit to renew us, that we might live as children of the promise, filled with joy and trust in His plan.