Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures today and continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, each and every one of us are called to renew our trust and faith in the Lord our God because the reality is such that our Lord is truly a God of miracles, Who is capable of doing things that we may deem to be impossible and difficult. There is indeed nothing that God cannot do for us, and everything that God has planned for us, and if we trust in Him to lead us through the journey He has put us through, all will happen precisely just as He has willed it to be. This is why, this Lent, all of us are reminded of these so that amidst our busy and hectic lives, we must always trust in God at all times.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people in the kingdom of Judah promising and reassuring them of the promised eternal life of joy, the promise of a new Heaven and a new Earth that are devoid of any more sorrow, hardships and trials, where all of them as God’s people can enjoy fully the fullness of God’s grace, love and comfort. This message of hope and deliverance came to the people of God at the time when they had been facing a lot of hardships, trials and struggles because they had not truly trusted the Lord their God, and instead chose to put their faith in the pagan idols and gods of their neighbours, in worldly matters and means.

That was why they faltered and crumbled against the many challenges facing them in the world, being crushed from all sides by their powerful neighbours, particularly at that time the Assyrians that were being ascendant. But God promised all of His people that even though they had not been truly faithful to Him, and even though they had frequently refused to listen to Him and His reminders through His many prophets, this would not diminish the love and care which He has always had for them. On the contrary, in fact, this only strengthened the resolve that God had in reaching out to His wayward people, in calling on them all to return to Him once again with hearts full of repentance and desire to follow Him.

God assured them all, and hence also all of us here living in our world today, that despite the uncertainties, fears, all the difficulties and challenges that we may now be facing, in our workplaces, in our families and circles of friends, and in our society and communities, and in the broader world, with all the conflicts and wars raging all around us, the economic crisis and difficulties, all of these will not prevail against us if we continue to put our trust in God. We must always hold firmly to our faith in the Lord and we should not be easily swayed and tempted to do otherwise, or choosing instead to put our trust and faith in other means and methods which more likely than not will disappoint us in the end. We must have faith that with God we will eventually prevail and triumph together with Him.

Then from our Gospel passage today, taken from the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, we heard of the miraculous healing of the son of a man who was an official in Capernaum, likely early during the Lord’s ministry as it was mentioned that He performed the miracle of the turning of water into wine at Cana which was the first public miracle performed by the Lord. We heard how the Lord ministered to the people in the region of Galilee, healing their sick and performing other miracles, and there were quite a number of those who became believers because of what they had witnessed and seen in the Lord’s signs and works. Of course there were also those who doubted and refused to believe in Him.

Now, for the official mentioned earlier, whose son was very sick and on the verge of dying, he sought the Lord for help and he had faith in the Lord when He told him that his son would live and would be well again. And very importantly, the man believed even when he did not see the Lord directly performing His miracle on his son, unlike what many others would probably had demanded. Like for example, many among the people doubted the Lord and demanded Him to show them all signs and wonders even though He has shown them plenty of these miracles and signs. Yet, the man showed us what true and genuine faith is all about, that he still trusted and fully believed in the Lord even when he was yet able to see the fulfilment of what God had reassured him with.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to these words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are hence reminded that we should all put our trust once again in the Lord, knowing that in Him alone that we can gain true joy and satisfaction, having the support and providence that will never run out or fail us, unlike any other worldly means and alternatives which will eventually be exhausted or will fail us in the end. Let us all as Christians continue to be good examples and inspirations to one another in our faith, trust and hope in the Lord, in putting ourselves firmly in the love and care of God, knowing that by His wonderful providence, we will continue to persevere and be blessed and strengthened in our journey no matter how tough it may be for us.

May the Lord, our most loving God and Father, continue to bless and guide us all in our respective journeys in life, and help us all in our Lenten journey and observance, in this time of rediscovery and reorientation of our lives so that we may truly walk courageously with the Lord in the path that He is leading us through, ever trusting in Him and ever committed to glorifying Him by our lives, in each one of our words, actions and deeds. May God bless us always in our every good efforts and endeavours, and continue to encourage us even in the most difficult moments and trials we may encounter. Amen.