Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C)
First Reading - Isaiah 43.15-21
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the Lord your God, the Creator of Israel, your King. I made a path for you through the mighty waters of the sea. I drew out the Egyptians behind you, chariots and horses, an army of warriors; but now they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched, like a wick. Yet now I say: recount this history no more, nor dwell on events of the past, for now I begin something new; indeed, it is already begun. Even the wild animals will honour me. I will make a safe route through the wilderness, and rivers will flow in the desert, to refresh my chosen people, the people I formed for myself; and they will declare my praise anew. This is the word of the Lord.Second Reading - Philippians 3.4-12
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians. If anyone had reason to be confident, I had more. I was a descendant of Jacob, in the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. In the observation of the law, I was a Pharisee. In zeal, I was a persecutor of the church. In righteousness according to the law, I was blameless. And yet I regard all these things as worthless now, for nothing has any value at all compared to knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. For the sake of Christ, I have lost everything. But I count this loss as nothing, for what I have gained is Christ.United with Christ, I depend
no more
on a righteousness of my own,
derived from the law,
for I have instead
a righteousness
that comes from God,
through faith in Christ.
And so, leaving behind
all that has gone before,
I now press on towards the goal
of knowing Christ more fully,
and the power of his resurrection;
sharing in his sufferings, and even
becoming like him in his death,
if somehow then
I may share
in his resurrection from the dead.
All this I choose, just as Christ
has chosen me.
This is the word of the Lord.