[Goanet] Fifth Sunday of Lent
13-Mar-2018 Dear Friend, We live in uncertain times and we are never sure of what is going to happen to the world and to ourselves. While most soldiers and their leaders are never certain of whether they would come back triumphant, alive or dead, from the battles they face, Jesus, as he prepared to face his passion and death, was certain of His Father’s love and the ultimate victory that the Father promised him. We too can be certain that the Father’s love will never fail us! Have an affirming weekend! -Fr. Jude Sun. Refl. 5th Sunday of Lent “God’s love is eternal. His death renews life! ” 18-Mar-2018Jer: 31: 31-34; Heb. 5: 7-9; John 12: 20-33; Today’s passage from Jeremiah provides comfort to the people in the midst of his gloomy predictions. The comforting part was the fact that Yahweh was going to make a New Covenant in the new and final age of salvation. This New Covenant would be God-centered and like the Old it would involve the people of God in the response shown to God’s law. But the New Covenant would last forever and it would not be written on stone tablets or in books but on men’s hearts, as God would intervene directly. All this ‘newness’ would be made possible because God would create ‘a new heart’ for his people and give them ‘a new spirit.’ “I will be their God and they shall be my people.” How I would love to know you!Once there was a salt doll that lived so far inland that she had never seen the sea. Consumed with a desire to see the sea she walked hundreds of miles towards the ocean. At last she arrived and she stood by the seashore; enraptured by the wonder of what she saw she cried out, “O Sea, how I would love to know you!” To her surprise and delight the sea responded to her, “To know me you must touch me.” So the little salt doll walked towards the sea and as she advanced into the oncoming tide she saw to her horror that her toes began to disappear. Then as her feet began to disappear she cried out, “O Sea, what are you doing to me?” The sea replied, “If you desire to know me fully you must be prepared to give something of yourself.” As the doll advanced further into the water her limbs and then her body began to disappear and as she became totally dissolved she cried out, “Now at last, I know the sea!”James A Feeban from ‘Story Power’ In the Gospel we see Jesus speaking of his forthcoming passion and death not with fear, but with hope and promise. We are told that a small group of Greeks came to John and expressed their desire to meet Jesus. “They wanted to see Jesus”. Andrew knew that no one who desired to meet Jesus would be a bother and so they approached him. Jesus begins by stating “Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus’ message here is that the way to glory for Jesus and for all of us is death to self. Jesus challenges a worldly way of living. Spelling out his form of discipleship, he points out that it is not enough to be Jesus’ fans. We become his followers when we try to live like him and for him. Jesus interrupts his trend of thought with the confession of his own fear. It is human to feel fear in the face of great trials and suffering. Courage is not the denial of fear but rather knowing enough of what is to come and yet doing what you have to do. Once we begin to love we open ourselves to pain as well as to joy. When Jesus says; “Father glorify your name!” what Jesus is saying is “Father use me as you will! What God did for Jesus, he will do for everybody. In times of crisis God is glorifying us, and we should be ready to say, “Use me as you will!” For Jesus the hour of being lifted up on the cross was also the hour of being lifted up in glory. All who share in being lifted up on their crosses will also be lifted up in glory in Him. Facing one’s fearOne of his biographers tells us that Dr. Martin Luther King knew many low moments. One night, for instance, his house was bombed. This literally plunged him into the deepest pit of despair –he hit rock bottom. In a state of utter exhaustion and desperate dejection he fell down on his knees and figuratively threw himself into the arms of God. This is how he prayed: “Lord I have taken a stand for what I believe is right. But now I’m afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership. If I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. But I’m at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I can’t face it any longer.” In other words, that was Martin Luther King’s Gethsemane. But, like Jesus, he went on to add, “I experienced the presence of God in a way like I had never experienced before. And that was the only factor that enabled me to carry on regardless of the outcome.”J. Valladares in ‘Your Words are Spirit and they are Life’ Unless a grain diesSeveral years ago Catherine Marshall wrote an article called “When We Dare to Trust God.” It told how she had been bed-bound for six months with a serious
[Goanet] Fifth Sunday of Lent
27-Mar-2017 Dear Friend, We have all been to a funeral, we have all been touched by death and we feel totally helpless in the face of death. We are fortunate to be alive while they are dead. But are we alive? Really alive, bursting with life and enthusiastic about living? Perhaps we have come across people who are more dead than alive! I would like to reflect on the challenge and the invitation of Jesus to be alive, to come alive!! Have a renewing weekend! -Fr. Jude Sunday Ref: Fifth Sunday of Lent “I will put my spirit within you and give you life!” 2-Apr-2017Ezk. 37: 12-14; Rom. 8: 8-11; John 11: 1-45; In the first reading we hear Ezekiel speaking words of hope to the Israelites. At first he may seem to speak of the resurrection, but he is actually predicting the renewed vitality of the whole people of Israel. In the passage before this, Ezekiel painted a picture of dry bones, the bones of warriors fallen in battle which remained unburied and littered some of the battlefields. For Ezekiel the dry bones are without life, like the graves mentioned in today's reading. He predicts that God's life-giving breath will restore his people, give them new life and resettle them in their land. ‘Death Be Not Proud’John Gunther's book 'Death Be Not Proud' tells the story of his son's last year of life. At sixteen, when most young people are dreaming about their future, John Gunther's son was dying from a brain tumour. The boy's quiet courage in his encounter with death prompted critic Judith Crist to write: "His story is a glowing affirmation of the nobility of even the shortest of lives." Book reviewer Walter Duranty of the New York Herald Tribune said: "To read 'Death Be Not Proud' is to grasp the meaning of man's power to defy Death's hurt; to be filled with confidence and emptied of despair."Albert Cylwicki in ‘The Word Resounds’ In today’s Gospel we are told that Jesus was informed by his friends Martha and Mary that their brother was seriously ill. Strangely, he delays his leaving for two days before he comes to their house. The whole story is full of symbolism and signs that point to a deeper reality. It is worth noting that Martha and Mary merely bring the plight of Lazarus to Jesus, without requesting or demanding that he come immediately. We see Jesus does not act according to human timetables; in human terms he is late but it all fits in, even death, in God's plan. When Jesus arrives on the scene Martha voices her regret but immediately she professes her faith. Jesus is quick to reassure her: "Your brother will live again." But for this miracle to happen Jesus needs her belief. "Do you believe this?" And Mary once again professes her faith: "Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus asked to be taken to the tomb of Lazarus and was greatly distressed and he wept so much that the Jews remarked: "See how much he loved him." In Jesus we see the care and concern of our God for all who suffer. John wrote his gospel for the Greeks, who believed that God was unmoved by the human condition. John paints a different portrait of a God who does not look upon the world stoically but is constantly involved in it, and interacts with it. The death of Lazarus does not mean that it is too late for Jesus to be his life. When Jesus reached the tomb he asks that the stone covering the tomb be taken away. For Jesus time, like death itself, is no barrier: "If you believe, you will see the glory of God." Before Jesus works the miracle He prays, He has full trust that His Father will listen to him. In a loud voice Jesus calls: "Lazarus come forth!" The miracle is that hearing the voice of the Son of God, Lazarus lives again. The same call of Jesus is addressed to all of us; He challenges and invites us to come alive again: "Come forth!" The story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead proclaims that Jesus is the Lord of life; that Christian life begins when we hear his word and obey it. We may be dead in the midst of life and Jesus can bring us to life again! “Come forth!” Keep the fork!There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, and what scriptures she would like read. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her."There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "This is very important; I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand. That surprises you, doesn't it?" The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story and, from there on, I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending church socials and potluck
