March 19, 3rd Sunday of Lent

March 19, 2017

Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 17:3–7; Romans 5:1–2, 5–8; John 4:5–42; 
John 4:5–15, 19b–26, 39a, 40–42

It is said that human beings can survive for a time without food. They say that one can survive for 3 weeks without food. But we can’t last long without water. One can survive only for a week without water. Our readings for today tell us about 3 characters who experienced thirst. Let us look at these three characters and reflect on what we can learn from them this season of Lent:

THE FIRST CHARACTER ARE THE THIRSTY ISRAELITES. In the first reading, we see the Israelites wandering in the desert. After God saved them from slavery in Egypt, they now begin their journey to the promised land. But something happened in the desert. Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses saying: “Has God forgotten us? Why did you lead us out of Egypt to die of thirst here in the desert?” Look at how thirst led the Israelites to easily forget the many good things that God has done for them. Isn’t this what sin is all about? Sin is forgetting God and forgetting how God has been good to us. But in midst of their grumbling, God enters as a compassionate and understanding God. God instructed Moses to use the same staff so that overflowing water will flow from the rock. It was as if God was telling them: “Do you remember how this staff saved you from slavery? Do you remember how this staff parted the waters of the sea? Do you remember now that I care much for you?”

If God were a human being, maybe the story would have changed. A human being will be hurt if his/her good deeds will be easily forgotten by someone. But not with God. God will never tire of saving us. God will never tire of allowing us to remember His goodness. The call conversion this Lent also involves this process of remembering - never forgetting the memories of how God has been good to us. Hopefully by remembering them, like the Israelites we turn to God and respond to the call to conversion.

THE SECOND CHARACTER IS THE THIRSTY SAMARITAN WOMAN IN THE GOSPEL. The conversation of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in the well led the woman to a realization that she is thirsting not only for water. The woman is thirsty for real love. She had five husbands and she is now living with another man who is not her husband. She is thirsty for real love, meaning and fulfillment in life. The woman was surprised because Jesus knew the truth about her life. She asks Jesus: “Who are you? Are you a prophet? How come you know about my life?” Perhaps this is the first time that the woman encounters a man who knows the truth about her life but does not condemn her. This man respects her. This man is compassionate towards her.   The call to conversion this Lent also involves our encounter with God who does not condemn us. When we come to realize our own sinfulness, and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, our God will not condemn us. He will be merciful and compassionate to us.

THE THIRD CHARACTER IS JESUS. He was physically tired and thirsty. But we later find out that His thirst illustrates God’s thirst for His people. Lent invites us to conversion – to quench God’s thirst for sinners to turn to the Lord. Pope Francis once said: “The Lord never tires of forgiving us. [The Lord never tires running after us. The Lord never tires of thirsting for us.] We are the ones who get tired coming to him to ask forgiveness.”  In this season of Lent, let us take to heart these words of Pope Francis. Let us not be afraid of the call to conversion. God is always there not to condemn us but to remind us and make us remember how great is His love, mercy and compassion for us sinners.  Amen.

March 12, 2nd Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2017

Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 12:1–4a; 2 Timothy 1:8b–10; Matthew 17:1–9

Do you know that even if there were no televisions yet during the time of Jesus, Jesus already mentioned the term “television”? If we look at today’s gospel reading, after the Transfiguration at Mt. Tabor, Jesus said to Peter, James and John: “Tel-e-vision to no one.” Our gospel for this 2nd Sunday of Lent is not about television but the vision of Jesus’ transfiguration. Why did Jesus allow Peter, James and John to witness his transfiguration? What effect did it bring about to his disciples?

FIRST, WE NEED TO POINT OUT THAT BEFORE THE TRANSFIGURATION EVENT, JESUS ALREADY TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WILL SUFFER AND DIE. What was the reaction of the disciples? Of course, they were frustrated. Perhaps they were telling Jesus: “What will now happen to us? After all these years of following you, after leaving behind everything - our own livelihood and loved ones, you will suddenly leave us and allow yourself to suffer and die? What kind of Savior are you?” They were frustrated because it shattered all their expectations about Jesus as a political leader who will liberate them from the Romans. Faced with this problem, the disciples do not know how to address it. 

Sometimes we can be in this situation. When big problems come to us, bringing darkness in our lives, like the disciples we do not know what to do. In order to forget this problem, what do some people do? They divert from the real issue. Some drown themselves in vices in order to escape from the problem. But will this solve the problem? No. What will solve the problem is changing our attitude towards the problem. This is what I want to emphasize in my second point:

THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS WERE TRANSFORMED AFTER WITNESSING THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS. What happened in the transfiguration? Jesus changed his appearance: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. He now looked like God. The disciples also heard the voice of the Father saying: “This is my beloved Son. He is not just an ordinary teacher or prophet. He is God. Do not abandon Him. Do not run away from Him out of fear. Listen to Him.” Jesus was transfigured not to impress Peter, James and John. Jesus was transfigured to strengthen them, to prepare them to face the big problem, to give them strength, to give them hope that suffering and death is not the end for Jesus.

Perhaps this is something we can learn from Jesus. Problems are solved not by changing the problem. Jesus did not solve the problem of his disciples by saying: “Ok. We will not anymore go to Jerusalem. I will not allow myself to be crucified.” No. Problems are rather solved by changing our attitude towards the problem. Jesus solved the problem of his disciples by transforming their hearts, by strengthening them to face the problem. How are we going to transform our hearts?

WE NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD IN PRAYER. This is what Peter, James and John did. They climbed up the mountain to pray. This experience transformed their hearts, strengthened them and filled them with hope. In order for us to remember this, may I propose a new meaning for the letters ASAP. The dictionary tells us that ASAP is an abbreviation for “as soon as possible.” But ASAP can also mean “Always Say A Prayer.” If you encounter difficulties in life, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. If you become depressed because of the many problems in life, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. If it comes to a point that you are fed up with worries and anxieties, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. It is in prayer that we encounter the Lord. It is in prayer that the Lord works to transform our hearts, to strengthen us to face the challenges of life.

My brothers and sisters, this Second Sunday of Lent, our gospel tells us that problems are solved not by changing the problem, not by diverting ourselves from the problem, but by changing our attitude towards the problem. As we continue our journey this Lent, let us allow our encounter with the Lord in our prayers to strengthen our hearts to face any difficulties in life.  Amen. 

March 5, 1st Sunday of Lent

March 5, 2017

First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 2:7–9; 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–19; Matthew 4:1–11

A young man who was struggling over lustful thoughts came to his Dad and asked this question: “At what age do you think all of these impure thoughts will go away?” The father replied: “At my age son. When you reach 75 years old, the temptation will go away.” Then suddenly a beautiful lady crossed the street and the old man’s eyes were fixed on her. Still gazing at the lady, he called back his son and said, “Son did I say 75?...Well make that 85!”

My brothers and sisters, temptations will never disappear as long as we’re alive.  Temptations affect every person in the world.  Temptations are part of the DNA of humanity. We have heard in today’s gospel that as a human being, Jesus was also tempted by the devil. But how was he able to resist temptations? What was his weapon? What can we learn from the example Jesus as we face temptations in life? 

Let us reflect on this in three points:

JESUS REFUSED TO ENTERTAIN TEMPTATIONS. We usually think of the devil as an ugly and horrible looking man, with horns and a pointed tail. But in reality, when the devil comes to us in temptation, he does not look ugly and horrible. Because if he did, we will surely run away from the devil. The devil is smart and cunning. The devil always presents temptation in a very attractive and pleasing manner so that we may be enticed to say “YES” to the invitation. In the first reading we see how our first parents were enticed by the temptation: “Eat this fruit and you will become like gods.”  But did they become like gods? No. They were deceived by the serpent. The devil personalizes temptations based on our own weaknesses. So what must we do in order to win against temptation? We look at Jesus in the gospel. He refused to entertain them. He immediately rejected the offer at the very beginning. There is a saying that says “If we pray against temptation but refuse to avoid occasions of sin, we are like putting our hands on fire and pray that our hands will not get burned.” What can we do to strengthen us in resisting temptations?

WE STRENGTHEN OURSELVES THROUGH PRAYER. This is what we see in Jesus. He was led by the Spirit into the desert and immersed himself in prayer. Prayer gives us the grace. Paul tells us in the second reading that this grace coming from God strengthens us in our weakness. We must never give up praying even if we see ourselves falling into sin. Because prayer and sin can never go together - either sin will go away or prayer will go away. If we want sin to go away, then we need to couple our efforts of avoiding occasions of sin with prayer, sacraments (confession, eucharist) so that we may be strengthened by the grace that comes from God.

WE STRENGHTEN OURSELVES BY LISTENING TO THE WORD OF GOD. In the gospel, Jesus answered the deception of Satan by quoting the Sacred Scriptures.  When asked by Satan to turn the stone into bread, Jesus quoted Scripture by saying: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When asked by Satan to throw himself down, Jesus again quoted Scripture by saying: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” When he was asked to worship Satan, Jesus consistently quoted Scripture by saying, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Perhaps we can also learn from this. Instead of entertaining the lure of temptations, we must entertain what the Word of God is trying to tell us.

My brothers and sisters resisting temptations is part and parcel of our daily spiritual battle. Jesus as a human being also faced temptations but refused to entertain it. In this Lenten season, let us work out to strengthen our defense against temptations by our prayer life and by listening to the guidance of God’s Word.  Amen.