Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures, and as we continue to journey through this season and time of Lent, all of us are reminded of the great providence and love by which God has always provided for us. We are reminded how in God we can find consolation and renewal, the freedom from all the bonds and shackles that we have been imposed with due to those sins we have committed in our own lives. All of us have been given these wonderful opportunities for us to turn away from our sins and to embrace wholeheartedly the rich mercy and compassion that God our Father has for each and every one of us, His beloved children. However, many of us often delayed in seeking God’s mercy and love, and we took it for granted that God loves us, to the point that we continue to live in the state of sin.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Isaiah in which God reassured His beloved people, the Israelites of the renewal, hope and good things that they would enjoy once again after they had been freed from their troubles, their domination by sin, all of which had made them to suffer separation from God, the misfortunes and difficulties that they had to experience because of their rebelliousness and stubborn attitudes. But God did not easily give up on His people despite all of that, and He remained committed to the Covenant which He had made with them all, and He still sent to them lots of help and guidance nonetheless, providing them with the means to reach out to His salvation and reconciliation with Him.

He promised all of His beloved people of the coming of the Saviour through Whom He has revealed to us His plan of salvation, the redemption and the new life that He would grant all of them, liberation from all the forces of evil and wickedness that have dominated them all those while. And through what we have heard, we ourselves are reminded of this great love of God which He desired to show and deliver to us, to bring us all into His loving Presence and kindness once again. During this time and season of Lent, we have been given the time, opportunities and chances to turn away from the path of darkness and evil, from our rebelliousness and waywardness, so that we may be found worthy again to be the holy and beloved people of God, His children, whom His favour has been given to.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of how the Lord Jesus, the same Saviour that we have just mentioned and discussed about, performed great miracles and deeds, proving to everyone of the truth and promises that God has given to us all His people throughout all of history. We heard how the Lord Jesus performed those wonderful miracles and works, amazing deeds that He has shown to everyone so that they might be convinced and encouraged in following the Lord, their God, and believe in His Providence and all that He has promised to them. God has always been loving to His people, and He does not want any one of them to be separated from Him, and He has offered us all His most generous love and kindness, opening the way to come back to Him, and through His Son, He made manifest and tangible all these before us.

We heard how the Lord encountered an official whose son has been very sick to the point of death, and how the official begged Him to heal his son. The Lord told the official at first with the words saying that unless he and others saw the signs and wonders performed before their eyes, they would not believe, likely referring to how many of the Lord’s own people in Judea and Galilee refused to believe in Him as mentioned in the same Gospel passage, despite having seen and witnessed with their own eyes, all the things and wonders that the Lord had performed before them. Especially those Pharisees and teachers of the Law, many of whom followed the Lord on His works and ministry, and continuously shown doubt and disagreements with the Lord in His teachings and works, despite having witnessed HIs miracles and heard of His Wisdom themselves.

The official professed his faith in the Lord, believing that He could heal his son despite not having to witness the deed in person. Therefore, when the Lord told him that his son would be healed, he believed and trusted in the Lord, and as we all heard, he encountered his servant who told him that his son recovered precisely the very moment that the Lord said to him that his son would be healed. By his faith in God, the official has received the great grace from God, the healing for his son and the promise of redemption which God has made evident and true by those miracles that He has performed. And all of us are reminded today through this story that we too are God’s beloved ones, and we shall receive His great grace and love, His kindness and mercy if we are truly faithful and committed to Him like that of the official.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, as all of us continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, let us make good use of the opportunities that God has provided to us so that by His providence, we may come ever closer to Him and to His holy Presence, ever trusting in Him and realising that being separate from Him, there is no true future for us. There is hope in God alone, and we should make use of the opportunities provided to us such that we may embrace this hope and light that God has shown to us, so that immersed in His light and in His love, we may be renewed and made whole again by His grace, and be freed from the bondage and shackles of our many sins and evils, from all the temptations and attachments of earthly desires and more, all the things that had kept us away from God.

May the Lord, our most loving and merciful God continue to guide us all in our journey of faith through life, and may He continue to strengthen us especially during this season and time of Lent so that we may be healed from our transgressions and sins, and be truly reconciled and reunited with God, Whose love for us has always endured despite all the disobedience and stubborn attitudes we have shown Him. Let us all no longer harden our hearts, but let us instead be humble and recognising our sinfulness, embracing God’s healing and mercy. May God bless us all and our Lenten journey, and make us to have a truly fruitful Lenten season. Amen.