5th Sunday of Lent, Year A, 29.03.2020

Ezekiel 37:12-14 / Romans 8:8-11 / John 11:1-45

The world today is such a different world from what it was just two months ago.

If only we could have stepped back into the world of two months ago, we will realize how much we have taken for granted.

In this short span of two months, we have learned so many new things, things that are uncomfortable and embarrassing, things that are strangely reversed.

We came to know of a new virus, COVID-19, and almost instantly we are immersed into the world of medicine and science. Before this we might not even know the difference between a virus and a bacteria. 

Also in a strange and funny way, the lowly toilet paper suddenly became as important as banknotes  and cheques.

In some countries, supermarkets are open but the shelves have become strangely become empty. 

Also in some countries, people are beginning to be difficult to recognize because almost every other person is wearing a surgical mask. So facial recognition on those electronic devices and gadgets will have problems.

And we have learned new terms like social distancing (which sounds like a contradiction of terms) which actually means physical distancing, and which is also now known as safe distancing. We also now know how long one meter is.

We have also come to know of other terms like Stay-Home-Notice,  Leave-of-absence, Quarantine Order, Etc.

Indeed the world today is so much different from the world of two months ago.

And for all of us, our world will change one day. It is that day when we close our eyes to this world.

And that was the case with Lazarus. His illness became mortal and he eventually closed his eyes to this world as death wrapped up his life in this world.

In the darkness of the tomb, all life is absent and the only thing present is the stench of death and decay.

Death has the force to separate the dead from the living and that distance is final.

We too feel a bit of that distancing as we are advised to stay indoors and not to go out unnecessary.

This mode of life is certainly a far distant from what we were used to two months ago.

We may feel that as our movements are becoming restricted, things are also rather distant from us

But not everything is so distant ….
Sunrise is not distant
Love is not distant
Family time is not distant 
Kindness is not distant
Creativity is not distant
Learning is not distant
Conversation is not distant
Imagining is not distant
Reading is not distant 
Relationship is not distant
Praying is not distant
Meditation is not distant
Resting is not distant
Work from home is not distant
Hope is not distant
Cherish what we have. 
Safe-distancing and restrictions are opportunities to do what we always wanted to do.

And as Jesus called out to Lazarus with those four words, “Lazarus, here! Come out!”, it is also a call to us.

Jesus calls us by name, calls us to look at Him and to come towards Him.

Jesus is our Life and He is the Resurrection.

When we keep our eyes on Him and walk towards Him, we too will be able to walk out of the darkness of fear and death and into the light of life.

It is having the hope in Jesus who is our light of life that we have the courage to keep walking in the darkness.

And as we walk on, may this be our reflection:
When all this has passed, I will never take for granted again, a coffee with a friend, exercising in the park, going to social events, going for Mass on Sundays or even weekdays, full shelves of food at the supermarket.

I will not take for granted going to a restaurant for a meal, a simple handshake and to say hello, and to sit comfortably next to each other.

I know that when this has passed, the world will be different. I hope and I pray that it will be a kinder world, a more thankful world and a world closer to God.

4th Sunday of Lent, Year A, 22.03.2020

1 Sam16:1, 6-7, 10-13 / Ephesians 5:8-14 / John 9:1-41
The units of measurement are helpful and even necessary in order to know the size, the weight, the power and the capability of objects and equipment.

But there are other units of measurement that do not exist on their own; in fact, they takes their  measurement from their counterparts. 

Take for example, cold and heat. There are measurements of heat but there are actually no measurements of cold. 

So we may say it is -20 degrees Celsius, but it is taken in reference to the measurement of heat. So cold is only a word used to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy and it can be measured, and cold is not the opposite but the absence of heat. 

Similarly with darkness and light. Going by the same reasoning as above, darkness is the absence of light. Darkness cannot be measured, whereas light  can (lumens) because light is energy. So darkness is just the absence of light, or the lack of light.

Similarly with blindness and sight. There is no measurement for blindness, but there are such terms as long-sighted or short-sighted.

And with blindness, all the person can ever “see” is darkness. Not being able to see, the world of the blind person is in constant darkness.

In the gospel, the disciples questioned Jesus about the cause of the man’s blindness. Was it his sin? Or was it his parents’ sin?

The reply of Jesus was rather puzzling, when He said, “Neither he nor his parents sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

Jesus proceeded to heal the blind man and gave him  sight. But Jesus did not do that to show that He was just a miracle worker or faith healer.

Jesus showed that He is the True Light, the light who has come to scatter the darkness of the blind and give him sight.

Similarly in these chaotic and trouble times, it seems like a darkness has enveloped the whole world, as what we are seeing are reports of rising numbers of infections and deaths, hard times ahead for the economy and the reality of a recession, and essentially it is a darkness that we are staring at, with fear lurking around in that darkness.

But it is in these times that Jesus wants to show us that He is the True Light. He wants to open our eyes so that we can see what God wants us to see.

In the first reading, God opened the eyes of the prophet Samuel, so that he could see what God wanted him to see, that the unlikely David was the chosen one. 

So what does God want us to see in this chaotic and trouble times?

The below reflection (anonymous) may shed some light to the present situation in our lives and to what is happening in the world.

You made the whole world stop spinning for awhile,
You silenced the noise that we all have created
You made us bend our knees again and ask for a miracle. 
You closed Your churches so we will realize how dark our world without You in it. 

You humble the proud and powerful. 
The economy is crashing, businesses are closing. 
We were very proud, we thought that everything we have, everything we possess was the result of our hard work. We have forgotten that it was always Your grace and mercy that made us who we are. 

We’re like running in circles looking for some cure to this disease but in fact it takes humility to ask for Your wisdom. 

We’ve been living our lives like we will be here on earth forever, like there’s no heaven.
Maybe these trials are Your mercy in disguise. 
Maybe this virus is actually Your way of purifying us, cleansing our soul, bringing us back to YOU. 

In the past You serenaded us with Hosea’s song:
“Come back to me with all your heart
Don't let fear keep us apart
Trees do bend though straight and tall
So must we to others' call
Long have I waited for
Your coming home to me
And living deeply our new life”

You have been patiently waiting for us. We’re so sorry for ignoring Your voice. For our selfish ways. We all deserve this. We have forgotten You dear Father. 😔

.. We’ve forgotten that You’re God, You only need to say the word, and our souls shall be healed.

May this present darkness help us to see the presence of the True Light, Jesus Christ, and may our minds and hearts be enlightened, so that we will see what we need to see, do what we need to do and continue to walk in the Light of Christ.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 15.03.2020

Exodus 17:3-7 / Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 / John 4:5-42
One of the most common elements and also probably the most taken for granted is water.

In this country, at the turn of the tap, flows clean drinkable water.

And most the time, we use that clean water to wash our clothes, wash our dishes, and of course, in this present situation, to wash our hands often.

It may lead us to think that water is in such abundance that even abuse can come in, as in we will waste water.

But when we know how important water is (we won’t be able to go on for more than 3 days without water), then we will realize how important water is.

When in dry arid conditions, and when water is scarce, then water becomes very significant in meaning as well as in reality. 

The object of discussion in the gospel is water. In that region, water is obviously of great significance.

The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman begins with water when Jesus asked her for a drink.

But as the conversation went on, the topic of water began to take on a spiritual mystical meaning.

Jesus used the term “Living Water”. The Samaritan woman would probably think of flowing water.

But then Jesus said that anyone who drinks the water that He shall give will never be thirsty again, and the water that He gives will turn into a spring within, welling up to eternal life.

Those images made the Samaritan woman yearn for that Living Water.

It awakened in her heart, not just a physical thirst for any water, but a deep thirst in the depths of her heart a thirst which only Jesus the Living Water can quench.

As the suspension of Mass continues into the fourth weekend, we are also beginning to feel a thirst.

After four weekends without the Eucharist we are beginning to feel a thirst.

We are beginning to feel like dry arid ground. We are beginning to feel that our lives are as dry as desert sands.

Oh yes, we long to have the Eucharist, we long to come back to some normalcy in life, we long to come back the routine of going for Mass and receiving the Eucharist on Sundays.

We long for this time of uncertainty and instability to be over.

Certainly, this challenging and difficult time will be over sooner or later. Then our lives will go back to normalcy and we will go back to our routine. 

So this thirst will be over.

But this thirst for normalcy and regular routine should awaken in our hearts the thirst for something deeper.

Because other kinds of thirst will come along – the thirst for health, the thirst for success, the thirst for achievements, the thirst for recognition, the thirst for relationships, the thirst for happiness, the thirst for love.

But beyond and above all these kinds of thirsts, there must be thirst for the Living Water that only Jesus can give.

On the Cross, Jesus cried out, “I thirst”. His thirst is not for any water, but a thirst for our hearts to be turned to Him, and from His pierced side will flow His Blood and Living Water that will fill our hearts and quench that thirst that will satisfy the other thirsts.

Only when we thirst for that Living Water that only Jesus can give, then our hearts will be like a tree that has its roots by the stream and bear fruit even in dry arid ground.

Let us turn our hearts to the pierced side of Jesus and be filled with Living Water and we shall never be thirsty again.

2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 15.03.2020

Genesis 12:1-4a / 2 Tim 1:8-10 / Matthew 17:1-9

When the Mass resumes and when we come to church, we might be in for a little surprise.

Coming to church before the suspension of Mass and coming to church when Mass resumes is going to be different.

As we approach the entrance of the church, there are posters on health advisory, asking us to check the status of our health, especially on whether we have a fever, cough and sore throat.

As we go further, there will be hand sanitizers for us to cleanse our hands. Where once we dip our fingers into Holy Water to bless ourselves, we now cleanse our hands with sanitizers.

Then we go along the Q-lines in the direction of the thermal scanners under the watchful eyes of the church wardens before going into the church.

And just as we sit down at the pew and thought that the hassle is over, hospitality ministers will approach us to ask us to take out our mobile phones to scan the QR code to register our particulars.


Indeed we might wonder if the church has become some kind of high security building. Oh yes, things have changed.

Yet the change is necessary, and some changes are here to stay. Given the uncertain and complex changes in the COVID-19 virus contagion, these precautionary health measures and contact-tracing are necessary.

And with the contagion spreading fast and wide in some countries, a shroud of darkness and uncertainty is covering the whole world.

Under this shroud of darkness and uncertainty, we may wonder what God wants to tell us and what is He saying to us in this situation.

In the gospel, as Jesus took His three disciples up the high mountain, He was also feeling a shroud of darkness and uncertainty approaching Him.

There was rising opposition against him from those in religious authority. He was viewed as a rebel to the establishment. He was getting famous but also seen as dangerous.

His disciples could also be wondering if they should keep following Him or not. There were questions but no certain answers.

But with the darkness and uncertainty looming over Him, on that high mountain, Jesus was transfigured in the presence of His three disciples.

His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as the light. And Moses and Elijah appeared with Him.

It was a wonderful revelation of who Jesus truly is, that He is the fulfillment of the law and the prophecies, and confirmed by the Voice from heaven which said, “This is my Son the Beloved, listen to Him.”

As for us, we too experience a shroud of darkness and uncertainty covering us in this present situation. And we wonder what God is saying to us.

But as the church undergoes changes in this situation we are also going through changes. The church is being transfigured. And so are we.

And in this shroud of darkness and uncertainty, the voice of Jesus scatters the darkness and He says to us, “Stand up, do not be afraid.”

But it is not just in this present shroud of darkness and uncertainty that Jesus wants to stand up and do not be afraid.

There are shrouds of darkness and uncertainty in our lives that reduce us into fear and worry.

There is the shroud of darkness and uncertainty over our financial security and job security.

There is the shroud of darkness and uncertainty in our difficult relationships and we wonder what the future holds for us.

But may this present darkness and uncertainty not drag us down into fear and worry.

Let us turn to Jesus and cry out to Him, “Lord, save us.”

And just as Jesus saved Peter from sinking into the water, He will save us from falling into fear and worry.