5th Sunday of Lent: The God Who Makes All Things New
By Deacon Richard
Original Song: Anchor of My Soul
There are moments in life when we wonder if we can ever start again.
We carry burdens—mistakes we’ve made, people we’ve hurt, chances we didn’t take, and those haunting words we wish we could unsay. And yet, here we are, deep in Lent, just one week away from Holy Week, and the Lord speaks these words through the prophet Isaiah:
“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing”
(Isaiah 43:18–19)
What a gentle and powerful invitation. God isn’t interested in holding our sins over our heads. He’s interested in our hearts—renewed, restored, and reclaimed.
A God of Surprises and New Paths
Isaiah reminds the people of Israel how God once made a path through the Red Sea, a way out of slavery. But now, God is doing something new—a fresh work of grace in their lives. And He says the same to us today.
Are you stuck in a dry desert in your life? Maybe it’s a struggle with sin, or an estranged relationship. Maybe it’s grief, shame, or just spiritual exhaustion. Psalm 126 responds with hope:
“May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy... Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, but they shall come home with shouts of joy.”
(Psalm 126:5–6)
Tears have purpose. In God’s hands, even suffering can bear fruit.
Letting Go to Reach Forward
In Philippians, St. Paul writes with honesty and humility. He knows he’s not perfect. He admits he hasn’t “taken hold” of Christ fully yet. But he’s not looking back in regret:
“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.”
(Philippians 3:13–14)
There’s a spiritual grace in not letting our past define us. This isn’t denial—it’s choosing to trust more in Christ’s mercy than in our own failures.
Jesus and the Woman Caught in Sin
And then we arrive at the Gospel—the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11). It’s one of the most tender and courageous moments in all of Scripture.
The crowd is armed with stones and ready to destroy.
Jesus is armed with truth and mercy.
“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Silence. Stones drop. One by one, the accusers leave.
Jesus doesn’t condemn. He forgives. He lifts her up. He sends her forth:
“Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
This isn’t a dismissal of sin—it’s a restoration of her dignity. It’s a new beginning.
What About You?
Where do you need Jesus to speak newness into your life today?
Do you believe He wants to forgive you?
Are you willing to drop the stones you’ve carried—against others, or even yourself?
Jesus meets us in our brokenness, not to shame us, but to heal us. Lent isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being open. As the Catechism tells us:
“God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us.”
(CCC 1847)
He waits for us. Let’s respond.
Let’s Pray Together:
Lord Jesus,
You see my heart.
You know my failures and my longing to be made new.
Help me to receive your mercy
and extend that mercy to others.
Give me courage to drop the stones I carry
and walk forward with You into new life.
Amen.
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