5th Sunday of Lent, Year A, 26.03.2023

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

One of the profound lessons of life is that we don't really treasure or value something until it is lost. 

It is a recurring lesson and we don't seem to learn enough of it. 

So, we take a lot of things for granted and we seem to think that we will always have them. 

We won't value the convenience of our mobile phone until it is spoiled or lost. 

We don't really take care of our health until we fall sick. 

We don't appreciate the love of our parents and loved ones until they have passed on. 

And we don't often think about the meaning and purpose of our life, until we are faced with the reality of death. 

No doubt, we have experienced the loss of a loved one, and we have attended the wakes and funerals of relatives and friends. 

It may affect us for a while as we think about death and what the afterlife is about. 

But we move on, and those who have passed on become a memory that slowly fades away like the sunset. 

Today's gospel brings up the topic of death, and makes us think about the meaning and purpose of our lives. 

We may not know exactly what is the afterlife about. But we know that Jesus is the Resurrection, and He is our life, and in Him, we have a new life after death. 

As Christians, we live our lives here on earth in preparation for our eternal life in heaven. 

We want to be happy on earth, so that we will be eternally joyful in heaven. 

We want to live in peace on earth, so that we will truly rest in peace in heaven. 

And in following the Commandment of Jesus, then whatever love and good that we can do for others, we will want to do it, because we only walk this way once, and we want to walk with others all the way to heaven. 

So, our life on earth is to be a life of love, and we will be prepared to face our own death, because we long for the eternal love of God in heaven. 

But, the worries and anxieties of this world, the wear and tear of life, make us hide in the tombs of our darkness. 

And in that darkness, we succumb to the sins of anger, resentment, bitterness, frustration, disappointment, greed, selfishness, in short, the corruption of the tomb. 

But just as Jesus called out to Lazarus, He calls out to each of us to “Come out!” 

Let us listen to the voice of Jesus, let us listen to the voice of life and love. 

Let us come out of our self-made tombs to encounter Jesus who is the Resurrection and who is our life. 

Jesus wants to unbind our sins, so that we can be freed, freed to live with love. 

And Jesus sends us out to love, so that others can find the meaning and purpose of their lives, and to journey with us to have life on earth, and eternal life in heaven.

4th Sunday of Lent, Year A, 19.03.2023

  1 Sam 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 / Ephesians 5:8-14 / John 9:1-41

The Bible is a collection of books that tells of the wonderful love of God for us.

 Yet, the Bible also contains stories that make us wonder about some strange accounts.

For example, why did the devil appear in the form of a snake to tempt Eve? If the devil had appeared in his ugly and heinous form, then there will be no problems for Eve and the snake.

Because Eve would have ran away from the devil, and the snake wouldn't be discriminated as an evil creature.

Or, how about Naaman, the Syrian army commander who had leprosy. Why did the prophet Elisah tell him to bathe in the river Jordan seven times, and that made Naaman angry.

The prophet Elisah could have just said a prayer and Naaman would be healed and that would have shortened the whole conversion process for Naaman.

Or, how about today's gospel? Look at how Jesus healed the man born blind. He spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put it over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.”

The blind man went off and washed himself and had his sight restored.

We may wonder, why did Jesus did such a strange action to restore the sight of the blind man.

He could have just said a prayer, or placed His hands over the eyes of the blind man, and the end result would still be the same.

But, what is interesting about that blind man who could now see, is that he saw more than what the others could see.

He not only could see, but his eyes were enlightened to see who Jesus really is, that Jesus is God.

So, we have eyes that can see. But are our eyes enlightened by the light of Christ to see deeper and to see the ways of God?

Even in the realm of nature, some fruits have odd appearances, like rambutans, soursop and durians. But rambutans are sweet, soursop is healthy, and some go crazy over durians.

So, when we see something that we can't understand or something that is not pleasing to the eye, let us not refuse or reject it.

Just as soft and tender tissue reside in hard and rough exteriors, God's soft and tender blessings reside in hard looks and strange expressions.

The blind man received his sight, but his eyes also received the light of Christ to see who Jesus really is.

May our eyes also be enlightened by the light of Christ to see God's love and blessings in everyone and in everything.

May our eyes also be opened to see God's strange but wonderful ways.

3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 12.03.2023

 Exodus 17:3-7 / Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 / John 4:5-42 

It is not so often that we have to stand that long at Mass, or more precisely, that long for the Gospel reading. 

In fact, the moments that we stand during Mass are not that many. Most of the time, we are either sitting or kneeling. 

So, for the long gospel reading, having to stand causes some distractions, one of which is that we begin to feel tired. 

Talking about tiredness, there are generally two types of tiredness. 

One is the physical tiredness, which requires rest or sleep, and that kind of tiredness is usually quite obvious. 

The other type of tiredness, which may not be so obvious, is the tiredness of the heart. 

The heart is tired because the heart is not at rest, the heart is not at peace, the heart is troubled. 

In the gospel, Jesus came to a Samaritan town and He came to a well. He was tired out by the journey, and He sat straight down by the well, obviously tired as well as thirsty. 

At about the sixth hour, or around noon, a woman came along to draw water from the well. 

She too was thirsty, but she was actually more tired. To come to the well at that time of the day means that she was avoiding people, and that she has something to hide. 

So, other than feeling thirsty, she was feeling more tired, physically and emotionally, because her heart was troubled, she had no peace of heart. 

In her encounter with Jesus, she became aware of her need for peace, a need that is deeper than the need for water or to rest. 

Finally, she put down her water jar and headed back to the town to tell the people about Jesus. 

She seems to have forgotten about her thirst and her troubles, because in her encounter with Jesus, she experienced Jesus as the living water of her life. 

Jesus quenched her thirst, and calmed her heart, such that she forgot about her water jar and went to the people she had been avoiding. 

We may not be that thirsty, but we have to admit that we are tired. 

We are physically tired and maybe even more emotionally tired. 

Our hearts are tired out by anger, resentment, bitterness, disappointment, shame, guilt.

Whatever it may be, Jesus Is our living water who will cleanse and refresh our hearts.

We just have to tell Jesus that we are thirsty and that we are tired. 

Let us come to Jesus and sit beside Him in prayer. 

It is in prayer that we will receive the healing and life-giving water from Jesus.

2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 05.03.2023

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

For us who live in high-rise buildings, we know that there is a difference between living on a lower levels, and living on the higher levels. 

Besides the difference in price, with the higher floors pegged at a higher price, there is also the difference in the view. 

In the lower floors, the view can be quite crowded and cluttered, as we get to see the surroundings at the ground level. 

Also, being nearer the ground, we will see more dirt, and if there are inconsiderate people living in the higher floors, then we will also see falling litter and dripping water from clothes and mops. 

On the higher floors, what might impress us is the view. We get to see further and see more, and it is windier and the air might be fresher. 

It may also be quieter, and with a good view, it may give a sense of tranquillity and serenity. 

So if we have a choice, and if we need not consider power failure and lift breakdowns, then it is likely that we would choose to live on the higher floors. 

But, the dynamics of life is not about a choice of whether we want to stay at the higher level or having to bear with staying at the lower level. 

Life is not about being on a high always or being on a low always. In fact, life is like a cycle of ups and downs, and of highs and lows. 

In last week's gospel, we heard that Jesus went into the desert and there He faced the temptations of the devil. 

We can imagine that it was not a pleasant image with the harsh conditions of the desert and dry sands. And we can also Imagine how challenging it was for Jesus to resist the devil's temptations in those kinds of conditions. 

In today's gospel, we heard that Jesus and three of His disciples went up a high mountain. On that mountain, Jesus was transfigured, and his face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 

Jesus was in His divine glory, and Moses and Elijah appeared and they talked with Him. It was an amazing scene, and Peter summed it all up when he said: Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here. 

Yes, it is wonderful to be on the mountain top, but it is awful to be in the desert. Even the surroundings are contrastingly different. 

In the desert, there is only the hot and dry desert sand. On the mountain, there is a sense of might and majesty, as a mountain is often seen to be as solid as a rock. 

So, in life, and even in faith, there are times when we feel as secure as a rock, and there are times when we feel that we are walking on hot sand and even sinking into quicksand. 

But the majesty of the mountain and the agony of the desert has lessons for us. The rocks of the mountain and the sands of the desert can tell us this story.

Two friends were walking through the desert and got into an argument. One friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis. Thirsty, they stopped for water. The one who had been slapped, slipped and fell into the pool, and started drowning. His friend saved him. That evening, he wrote on a rock: Today my best friend saved my life.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a rock, why?” 

He replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it in sand where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where it will be long remembered.”

So, let us remember the divine majesty that Jesus revealed on that mountain top, and let us listen to His teachings of love and forgiveness.

And when we sink into the agony of the hot desert sands, let us remember what Jesus said to His disciples: Stand up, do not be afraid.

So when we feel that we are standing on hot sands or even in quicksand, let us call out to Jesus, and He will raise us up to the mountain top to see His glory.