＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Isaiah 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25

  I am Yahweh, and there is no other.

  I form the light and create the dark; I usher in prosperity and bring calamity. I, Yahweh, do all this.   Let the heavens send righteousness like dew and the clouds rain it down.

Let the earth open and salvation blossom, so that justice also may sprout; I, Yahweh, have created it.  Yes, this is what Yahweh says,  he who created the heavens,

– for he is God, who formed and shaped the earth, – for he himself set it:

“I did not let confusion in it, I wanted people to live there instead” – for I am Yahweh and there is no other.   Let them present their arguments take counsel together and tell me:

Who announced this from the beginning, who foretold it in the distant past? Is it not me Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a Savior, a God of justice, there is no other one but me.

  Turn to me and be saved, all you from the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other.   By my own self I swear it, and what comes from my mouth is truth,

a word I say will not be revoked.

Before me every knee will bend, by me every tongue will swear,   saying, “In Yahweh alone are righteousness and strength.”   All who have raged against him will come to him in shame.   But through Yahweh there will be victory and glory to the people of Israel.

 

Ps 85:9ab & 10,11-12, 13-14

Let the clouds rain down the just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 7:18b-23

  So John called two of his disciples, and sent them to the Lord with this message, “Are you the one we are expecting, or should we wait for another?”

  These men came to Jesus and said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask you: Are you the one we are to expect, or should we wait for another?”

 At that time Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses or diseases; he freed them from evil spirits and he gave sight to the blind.   Then he answered the messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor are given good news. Now, listen:  Fortunate are those who meet me,and are not offended by me.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Although John proclaimed Jesus as the lamb of God during Jesus' baptism, still he could not rest easy. His ministry is too important to take it lightly. He knows that he will prepare the way of the Lord.

And so, to assuage his doubts he sent two of his disciples to Jesus for confirmation. And when asked, Jesus did not answer directly. He rather turns the attention of John's disciples to what He is doing. More than claiming in words that He is the awaited One of Israel, He shows them the wonderful things that happen in His ministry. These signs of wonder are what testifies to who He is.

For words can be invented and faked and actions can also be misinterpreted as well if not properly explained. And so, on that day, John's disciples see that the words spoken about Jesus and His actions meet and match.

 

 

I am listening to what the LORD God is saying;

he promises peace to us, his own people;

if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

Surely, he is ready to save those who honour him

and his saving presence will remain in our land