Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Isaiah 65,17-21

For look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered and will come no more to mind. Rather be joyful, be glad for ever at what I am creating, for look, I am creating Jerusalem to be 'Joy' and my people to be 'Gladness'. I shall be joyful in Jerusalem and I shall rejoice in my people. No more will the sound of weeping be heard there, nor the sound of a shriek; never again will there be an infant there who lives only a few days, nor an old man who does not run his full course; for the youngest will die at a hundred, and at a hundred the sinner will be accursed. They will build houses and live in them, they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The Israelites have been back in Jerusalem for a while, but they are struggling to return to the Lord with their hearts. Isaiah wants to shake the people from the resignation in which they fell after returning from exile, as if now there was no longer any hope of a future. The Word of God resonates again to awaken the lethargy and loosen resignation. The Lord intervenes and gives his people a new vision, a new dream, and new energy. The Lord renews his great vision to make of all the people a family and of Jerusalem a city for everyone. Indeed "no more the sound of weeping be heard in it and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; ... and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed." It is a dream that still today stands out in all its prophecy so that the temptation the peoples have to close up in their own limited horizon may be defeated. Unfortunately, we continue to see the fragmentation of the world: we could say that we continue to break it into pieces with the illusion that each one may save him or herself. It is the bitter illusion of individualism that is destroying the "we" of the peoples which is God's dream on the world. The time has come to propose again the universal vision of salvation for all peoples.