Today the Church is quiet, waiting for the promise of the Resurrection. After accompanying the Lord in His Passion and witnessing His death, there is nothing to see today. This helps us to be reflective and go over what we have seen.
The reading begins with the prophet, speaking in the name of the Lord, and pleading. The invitation to come to the water reminds us of the water that flowed from Christ’s side as He hung upon the Cross (John 19:34), the fountain of living water, the Holy Spirit. Though we do not have the means of paying, we are not rejected (verse 1). On the contrary, the things that money is able to buy cannot satisfy. Here we are invited to reflect on our bankruptcy before God. Do I know, in the depth of my being, that I am bankrupt before God, that I have nothing to offer Him for my salvation? The weakness of not believing that sins already confessed have been forgiven and forgotten, may by God’s grace be turned into a means of realising my utter dependence on God for salvation. Reminding ourselves how willingly and completely Christ offered His life in obedience to the Father may also help us to know our bankruptcy. The day before she died, Saint Bernadette said to Sister Nathalie “My dear Sister, I’m afraid, I have received so many graces and I have profited so little from them.” In other words, the awareness of God’s generosity and my poor response may also help me to know that I have nothing to offer for my salvation. Has my Lenten observance deepened this awareness in me?
One of the aspects in which the Lord’s ways are different to ours (verses 8-9) is in His readiness to be merciful and forgive. The Lord finds His delight in showing mercy (Micah 7:18). Can I say that showing mercy is more of a delight and than a sacrifice? Does this influence the way I see myself and relate to the Lord?
At the end of our preparation for Easter, for the last time as it were, the Lord pleads with us to return to Him (verses 2-3a, 6) and find our satisfaction in Him. Looking back on my life, what has given me the deepest satisfaction? Is the peace we have today not found in the memory of having given ourselves – though imperfectly – to the Lord and responded to His grace in the past? The sacrifice I make today will be the source of a deeper peace in the future.
The reading ends with great optimism (verses 10-11). The rain and the snow are symbols of grace which gives growth to seed and transforms it. God’s grace will achieve its purpose, but in His time. As a seed and a plant differ from one another, so does the body we have now differ from the body we will have after the Resurrection. (It may be helpful to read 1 Corinthians 15: 35-44). Does my faith make me optimistic? Am I patient enough as I wait for His time?
Lord, without You I not only have nothing but am nothing – help me know this ever more deeply. Take away the indifference I sometimes have to Your appeal to find my satisfaction in You. Free me from all that leads to self indulgence and the instant and momentary satisfaction that comes form the things of this world. With Mary, may my spirit rejoice forever in You, my God, my Saviour.
Let us pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be.
1 av. Monseigneur Théas
