16 March 2021

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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 : 4th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our Scripture readings today we heard the interesting parallel between what we heard in our first reading today on the vision of Ezekiel, the prophet of God as he saw the vision of the heavenly Temple and Sanctuary, and the water that flows out of that Temple which purifies and sanctifies, and gives life, with the account of the miraculous healing of a man at the Pool of Bethzatha by the Lord, healing that man from his sickness and made him able to walk again.

In our first reading today, we heard the vision of the heavenly Temple, the dwelling of God Most High by Ezekiel. In that vision, particularly in what we are covering today, the life-giving water that comes forth from the Temple is representative of the life that comes forth from the Lord Himself, Who is the source of all life, and from Whom healing shall come for all those who have been sickened and troubled, just as He healed those with physical complaints and sicknesses. And in the same way therefore, He has also healed us from our sins.

Through what we have been hearing, the Lord has the authority and power to heal us not just from our physical infirmities and troubles, but even more importantly from our sins. In fact, the Lord alone is capable of forgiving us from our sins, and reconciling us to Himself, which He has done therefore through His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the whole world and all mankind. This healing happened on the Sabbath, on the sacred day in the tradition of the people of Israel and their descendants.

On the Sabbath, the Lord has decreed that the people should honour that day and refrain from doing work, with the intention of allowing the people to have the time to spend with God and to worship Him, rather than being occupied with their worldly matters and work for all of their time, or in pursuit of other matter and forgetting and leaving God out of their lives. Yet, this was never meant to prevent the people from doing good deeds and to do what the Lord has commanded them to do.

The Lord wanted all of His people to know Him and to be righteous in their ways, and He wants them to live their lives with Him as the focus and centre. Yet, they had forgotten this, and at the time of the Lord Jesus and His ministry, those who were charged with the preservation and care of the Law, they had erred and focused too much on the methods and the rigours of the rules and regulations of the Law, forgetting why the Law, especially that of the Sabbath was given by God to us in the first place.

That is why, brothers and sisters in Christ, all of us today are called to turn towards the Lord with ever stronger zeal and devotion. We are all called to renew our faith in Him and to believe that He is the One Who can heal us from all of our predicaments. Just as He has healed the sick man at the Pool of Bethzatha and made him to be able to walk again, thus we too can be healed from our infirmities. If we are perfectly healthy in the body, then are we in need of healing? The answer is yes! That is because of our sins, sins that corrupt us and make us unworthy before God, a disease that is eating up into our whole being, that God alone can heal.

And the Lord did all this through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ no less, by the ultimate and most loving sacrifice that He made on the Cross. He bared everything and emptied Himself, taking up upon Himself all of our sins and iniquities, and suffering greatly for all of them, for our sake, He has brought us the promised redemption and healing. Now, what are we going to do, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we going to embrace the Lord and His love, just as we have seen how much He had dedicated Himself to us? Are we grateful for everything that He had done to us?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, each and every one of us are called in this season of Lent to rediscover our faith and love for God. Are we willing to seek the Lord for healing and ask Him for the grace to be forgiven and reconciled with Him just like the sick man having strong faith and believing that the Lord could heal him? Let us all reflect and ponder on all these, and make the best use of the time and opportunities that have been given to us so that we may grow ever more in our faith and dedication to the Lord, through this time of reflection and reconciliation.

May the Lord guide our path and may He strengthen us all in our journey towards Him that we may find our path and may be ever closer to the Lord and persevere in our struggle in faith through life. May God bless us all and our good endeavours, all for the greater glory of His Name. Amen.

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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 : 4th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 5 : 1-16

At that time, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now, by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five galleries. In these galleries lay a multitude of sick people : blind, lame and paralysed.

(All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an Angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter the pool, after this movement of the water, would be healed of whatever disease that he had.)

There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him, and because He knew how long this man had been lying there, He said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” And the sick man answered, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; so while I am still on my way, another steps down before me.”

Jesus then said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk!” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his mat and walked. Now that day happened to be the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had just been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and the Law does not allow you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The One Who healed me said to me, “Take up your mat and walk!”

They asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you : Take up your mat and walk?” But the sick man had no idea who it was Who had cured him, for Jesus had slipped away among the crowd that filled the place. Afterwards Jesus met him in the Temple court and told him, “Now you are well; do not sin again, lest something worse happen to you.”

And the man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had healed him. So the Jews persecuted Jesus because He performs healings like that on the Sabbath.

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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 : 4th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 45 : 2-3, 5-6, 8-9ab

God is our strength and protection, an ever-present help in affliction. We will not fear, therefore, though the earth be shaken and the mountains plunge into the seas.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, the city cannot quake, for God’s help is upon it at the break of day.

For with us is the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, our refuge. Come, see the works of the Lord – the marvellous things He has done in the world.

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Tuesday, 16 March 2021 : 4th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Ezekiel 47 : 1-9, 12

The man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple and I saw water coming out from the threshold of the Temple and flowing eastwards. The Temple faced the east and the water flowed from the south side of the Temple, from the south side of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing the east and there I saw the stream coming from the south side.

The man had a measuring cord in his hand. As he went towards the east he measured off a thousand cubits and led me across the water which was up to my ankles. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me cross the water which came to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and we crossed the water which was up to my waist. When he had again measured a thousand cubits, I could not cross the torrent for it had swollen to a depth which was impossible to cross without swimming.

The man then said to me, “Son of man, did you see?” He led me on further and then brought me back to the bank of the river. There I saw a number of trees on both sides of the river. He said to me, “This water goes to the east, down to the Arabah, and when it flows into the sea of foul-smelling water, the water will become wholesome.”

“Wherever the river flows, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be plentiful and the sea water will become fresh. Wherever it flows, life will abound. Near the river on both banks there will be all kinds of fruit trees with foliage that will not wither and fruit that will never fail; each month they will bear a fresh crop because the water comes from the Temple. The fruit will be good to eat and the leaves will be used for healing.”