“Creating ‘beautiful paintings’ of God’s Love and Mercy in this world by the Power of the Master”

(Based on Isa 49:8-15 and Jn 5:17-30 – Wednesday of the 4th Week in Lent)

After the death of a great painter a young Italian boy went to the painting studio and asked for the great artist’s brush.

The boy tried the brush…
but found he could not paint any better with it than with his own.

It was then he realized…
… the power of painting, was not in the brush

It was in the Master!

The boy lacked the master’s power.

It was the Power of the Master that created the beautiful paintings.

Jesus, displayed immense strength and courage…
… as a result of His Powerful Union with His Father!

This Power led Him to create “beautiful paintings” of Mercy and Love in the world.

The Gospel of the Day is an amazing revelation by Jesus on His relationship with the Father.

This passage has its background in the healing that Jesus performed on a Sabbath day, of a man who had been ill for a very long time – thirty-eight years (Jn 5: 1-16).

When the Jews found out from the healed person, that it was Jesus who had done this work, they were extremely furious.

Their objection was that…
… Jesus had done this miracle on a Sabbath
… Jesus had made the person to perform a work – of carrying the mat – on the Sabbath day.

They, therefore, began to persecute Jesus (Jn 5: 16).

But Jesus brought out a fair logic in defending Himself, “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work” (Jn 5:17)

• Jesus equates Himself to the Father….
• Jesus establishes Himself as the Son of God…

And He draws the point, that just as, on the Sabbath Day, His Father….
… creates and sustains, so is He renewing and bringing life to the world!
… supplies life and maintains, so is He nourishing and refreshing the world!

• Jesus, as the Son has every right and privilege to engage in life-saving works, just as His Father
• Jesus, as the Son has every justification and claim to do life-redeeming works, just as His Father

As followers of Jesus, we are to be the extension of His life-saving and redeeming works in the world…
… Am I willing to become a person, filled the power of the Lord, in order to bring healing to the world, by my deeds of kindness and goodness?
… Am I willing to become an extension of the Lord, imbued with His spirit, in order to spread His love and mercy to our broken and struggling world?

As followers of Jesus, we need to have the proper and true understanding of the Sabbath…
• The Sabbath is a day of solemn rest, holy to the Lord…
… Do I give it to the Lord, entirely, engaging only in deeds that help me come closer to Him?

• The Sabbath is a memorial of Israel’s liberation from bondage in Egypt
… Do I remind myself of being a person to be liberated from the bondage of sin, and seeking to grow in holiness?

• The Sabbath is sign of the irrevocable covenant between God and human beings…
… Do I renew the spirit of this pledge and promise to the Lord with salvific deeds of love?

Let us deepen our relationship and grow in our efforts to be more in union with the Lord…
… the One who guides the world, the One who sustains each of us and the One who fills life in all!

Jesus, displayed immense strength and courage…
… as a result of His Powerful Union with His Father!

This Power led Him to create “beautiful paintings” of Mercy and Love in the world.

Let us also realize that it is only by “the Power of the Master that we can create the ‘beautiful paintings’ of God’s Love and Mercy in this world”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
THE CREED

Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different eras.
None of the creeds from the different stages in the Church’s life can be considered superseded or irrelevant.
They help us today to attain and deepen the faith of all times.
Among all the creeds, two occupy a special place in the Church’s life:
… The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith”.
… The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day.
Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles’ Creed, which constitutes, as it were, “the oldest Roman catechism”.
As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the “standard of teaching”, let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe.
This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul. (CCC # 192-197)

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