A reading from the book of Isaiah (56:1-3, 6-8)
Thus says the Lord,
‘Make fair judgement your concern,
act with justice,
for my salvation is near
and my righteousness is ready to be revealed.
Blessed is anyone who does this,
anyone who holds fast to it, observing the Sabbath,
not profaning it, and holding back from every evil deed.
No foreigner attached to the Lord may say,
“The Lord will firmly exclude me from his people.”
As for foreigners who attach themselves to the Lord
to serve him, to love the Lord’s name and be his servants,
all who observe the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and hold fast to my covenant:
these I shall lead to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices on my altar will win my favour,
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.’
The Lord God who gathers the exiles of Israel declares,
‘There are others I shall gather to him,
besides those already gathered.’
The final chapters of the book of Isaiah are produced after the return from exile, and originate from various prophets. This first text from those chapters restates the priorities of ‘fair judgement’ (mishpat) and ‘justice’ (tsedaqah). All those who act accordingly, without exception, are declared ‘blessed’. This is then further explained by explicit reference to the ‘foreigner’, traditionally excluded from temple worship (Deuteronomy 23). The only requirements are respect of the sabbath and of the covenant of the Lord. God will lead them to the ‘holy mountain’, and ‘make them joyful in the house of prayer’. They will be free to offer sacrifices on the altar, for God’s house is ‘for all peoples’ (Mark 11). God’s invitation to all is confirmed when God speaks of ‘others I shall gather besides those already gathered’. The shepherd God welcomes all (John 10).
Psalm 67 (66) underlines that God’s salvation is for all the peoples.
A reading from the holy gospel according to John (5:33-36)
Jesus said to the Jews:
You sent messengers to John, and he bore witness to the truth.
I do not accept human witness;
it is for your salvation that I say this.
He was the lamp burning and shining
and for a time you were glad to rejoice in his light.
But I have a greater witness than John’s:
the deeds my Father has given me to complete,
these same deeds that I do witness that the Father has sent me.
The healing of the paralysed man at the pool of Bethsaida in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John has been followed by a debate between Jesus and his interlocutors on the ‘work’ he does on the Sabbath, and on calling God his ‘Father’. At this stage of a long speech Jesus refers to John the Baptist as giving ‘witness’ (marturia) for the truth, a temporary witness who was a ‘lamp burning and shining’. But a greater witness claimed by Jesus is provided by the works the Father has given him to complete, and these works bear even stronger testimony that the Father has sent him. Like the gospel readings of the last few days, this final reading of the first period of Advent again mentions the role of John the Baptist.
What ‘works of God’ provide witness for you in daily life?
A further witness for Jesus in John 5 is the holy Scriptures.