Fullerton T

5TH SUNDAY OF LENT

JESUS RAISES LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD

This week most of us are quarantined at home as we deal with the ongoing Covid19 pandemic. This is at one and the same time an inconvenience and an opportunity. An inconvenience that we cannot get around the way we normally would as well as an opportunity to get the things we have been trying to do for a long time done.  We remember in a special way all those who are affected by COVID19 and we also remember all the front line workers who are helping us to deal  with all of this as we keep safe wherever  we are.

This Sunday is the  5^th Sunday of lent as we look towards Palm Sunday and Holy Week. A holy week that will be very different this year as we are not able to have our normal congregations at the ceremonies. In this weekend’s gospel reading we listen to the story of Lazarus and we hear about the compassion that Jesus had towards him and his sisters Martha and Mary.

This story is also about faith, the faith that Martha and Mary had in Jesus when they sent the message to them that Lazarus was sick indeed he had died and was in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived and called him to come out from the tomb. When Lazarus was called from the tomb, it was the last sign, worked by the Lord before his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, everything seems to flow to that ‘new reality’ inaugurated by Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Sharing our existence, Jesus loves us with a supreme passion right up to sacrificing Himself for us on the cross of Good Friday. He was moved by those who were linked to him by ties of the most profound friendship who understood that it could not be anything but God’s presence amongst them.

 John’s message for us is that Jesus raises us to new life. This raising to new life does not mean that we no longer suffer. As a matter of fact, this new life leads through pain and suffering before it reaches fullness of resurrection. Jesus demonstrates this to us as it leads to his painful death on the Cross on Good Friday. But the new life we live leads to a new creation, a new way of living. The proof of this is the Resurrected Christ of Easter Sunday. He appears after his resurrection to those at the beginning of their new life. We ask the Lord for the courage to walk towards the voice that is saying, Lazarus, Come out! Jesus is calling us. He is calling us to come out of the darkness, and come into his Light.  Lent may be winding down as next Sunday is Palm Sunday, but there is still time for us to do our spiritual spring cleaning. There is still time for us to be at peace with ourselves and with the Lord in the light of the presence of Jesus who is God with us.

4th Sunday of Lent

Over these past few days and week here in Northern Ireland where I live and many other places  we have  stopped public masses though Mass will be celebrated without the people present on the web cam and radio as well as that we have closed our schools and other educational facilities. All of these are precautionary measures that are sensible as we go forward with our response to the COVID19 pandemic. As we make all the preparations we also need to stop and remember that this is not just about the COVID19 Virus and our response to it,  this is also about real people and how they are coping with this current emergency and how we are looking after one another wherever we are in the world and this constantly changing situation. There are many people out there who are fearful about what will happen to them especially the Old and the Vulnerable and it is up to us who are still able to get around to help and look after them. This is a time when it is natural for everyone to be fearful of the future as we do not have any real idea when this pandemic and the restrictions that it has brought will end as a result of all this we need  to reach out to those in our communities who are unable to get out and show that we care for them.

We also remember all those health care professionals and all others who are on the frontline looking after those who are sick and keeping all of us going. From the doctors and the nurses right through to the delivery men who bring us the goods we need we offer a prayer for all of them. As we try to get on with our lives as best we can in these current circumstances let us look out for all those who might need our care and help and not be afraid to help them going into the future uncertain as it is.

This Sunday our gospel is the story of the blind man, in this story we have another example of God’s choice, one which confuses the religious leaders of the day. John’s beautifully crafted story tells how a blind man comes to see the light in Jesus, both physically and spiritually. When Jesus’ disciples first see the blind man they presume that his affliction is a result of sin. But Jesus sees in the blind man something else: this roadside beggar who has always inhabited a world of darkness will be the one to display the work of God and point to who Jesus really is. If we are to really see clearly, we need to let Jesus heal us of our blindness  and open our eyes as He did the man born blind in this weekend’s Gospel.  This is a challenging gospel story for all of us even today because so many people are spiritually blind.

It is possible that the places and things we think we are seeing clearly are not as clear as they should be.  Remember that the ones, who were 100% sure they knew what was going on, the Pharisees, were blind to God. They were religious experts, like many other experts they missed the truth staring them in the face. The one who is turning their world upside down was the Son of God who was trying to open their eyes and send them along the right road. There are many things that raise questions and upset our routines these may be the very places God is trying to open our eyes and give us the vision to set things right for our lives. The story of the blind man getting his  sight gives us an opportunity to pause and ask ourselves:  How well do I see? Do I see what is really going on in my life? Has the road I have taken made me lose my way?

Are things happening to me that make me trip up and stumble like a person walking and groping in the dark? We need to ask ourselves: what is blurring our spiritual vision these days? What’s dulling our appreciation of life and gods place within it? As we remember the Blind spots in our own lives we also remember that faith always remains a choice we make that helps us to see with great clarity of vision. When we choose to trust in God and believe in what he reveals to us, we exercise our freedom to believe.

Our minds and wills freely cooperate with God’s grace. Faith is not and can never be an act coerced by God or others. Faith in God and each other is a journey which takes along many roads and the road we are called to follow during Lent is the road that leads us to Jesus the light of the world at Easter. The question we should ask ourselves this weekend is this: will we continue to be blind or will we let our faith in God heal the blindness of our lives and our world especially in this time of  crisis .

3rd Sunday of Lent

As we all know the corona virus pandemic is ongoing and throughout the world many Churches are taking precautions and we here in Northern Ireland where I live are no different. Many people out there are panic buying and believe it or not Toilet Rolls are the hard to get thing such is the panic !!!! But for all of this we need to look out for one another and follow the guidance of the Government and Church authorities wherever  we are in the world. We are also asked to look out for those who are vulnerable in our communities especially the Old and those who are unable to get around who might have other health worries as well.

As we continue our journey of prayer for lent we come to the 3^rd Sunday and our gospel story for this weekend tells us about the Samaritan woman at the well. One of the responses for the Easter Vigil is with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation and this sums up what the reading from johns gospel is about. It is about the great joy that comes from being a Christian a believer in the good news of the Gospel. Jesus breaks the law to speak to a Samaritan woman who had come to Jacob’s well to draw water.

What a surprise it must have been to her, when Jesus, tired, hungry and thirsty, asks her for a drink of water! He broke all the rules in speaking to her. Now, He keeps on talking, ignoring her hostility, aware that, in this unexpected encounter, the Father has provided Him with an opportunity for piercing the heart of this sinful woman with His love and also leaving an example for all those who thirst. Jesus suggests that He can give her living water that is far superior to anything she had ever tasted. Certainly her five husbands haven’t brought her what she is really looking for. We know that she had tried cheap love, and we presume she was no stranger to intoxication, power, and money! This isn’t a gentle lady who comes to draw water from the well, but a toughened cynic. Cynical with the world around her in her time as so many are cynical  in our modern world for many different reasons. Jesus forgets His own needs, and offers this woman living water that is spiritual grace. Finding her heart curious and open to this miraculous water, He proceeds to raise her vision. He asks her to go back and bring her husband to the well with her. Of course, this is the turning point of the story. When He confronts her with the truth, she could have flounced off in righteous indignation and denial as many people do when confronted with the truth but she doesn’t.

In true humility, she accepts the reality of her life. Because of her humility, Jesus floods her soul with grace. Dropping her bucket, she runs back to spread the good news. “I’ve found the Messiah!” And she had!  Lent is a time for us to let Jesus satisfy our thirst for the truth. Like the Samaritan  woman, we too have tried the wrong kinds of water to quench our thirst for happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind without really finding it. Lent  is the time for us to find real joy and satisfaction of letting the Lord fill us with the grace in order to fully enjoy the season of Easter so that we can say “I’ve found the Messiah!”. The Samaritan woman reminds those who doubt, or struggle with faith that all of us are like that we all have doubts about our faith but we are asked to stay in a conversation with Christ. The Samaritan woman at the well  came looking for physical water and found Jesus, the “living water,” who would quench her thirsty spirit. May we find joy at the wells of salvation brought to us  through Jesus Christ as we go forward during Lent to Easter.

2ND SUNDAY OF LENT

Over the past few weeks we have been hearing about the spread of the COVID19 virus throughout the world especially in Europe. It would seem that if we follow the guidance of the various health agencies with regard to hand washing etc we will be ok. We remember in a special way all those who are affected and those who have died as a result of the virus and their families. We also remember the healthcare professionals who are one the front line during this time. Despite the Corona Virus we continue our Lenten journey and hopefully the  various  aspects of penance alms giving and fasting that we are undertaking are not too hard. This Sundays gospel story is about the Transfiguration. This momentary vision of Christ, in his glory, was given in order to strengthen the three Apostles Peter James and John  to face the trials to their faith which the sufferings and crucifixion of their beloved master would bring to them. For the very same reason this Gospel is retold to us today, in the early part of Lent so that we will strengthen our resolve to keep our faith.  The Father of Jesus told the apostles “This is my Son, the Beloved; with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” What is so important about listening to Jesus?

Wouldn’t we rather have the spectacular vision as a sign of God’s presence in our lives of course we would. We live regular, ordinary lives most of the time and such a vision might help us get stirred up and enthusiastic again. Well it’s not really about the big splash, or the spectacular vision on the mountain, instead its all about listening to Jesus and hearing what he is saying to us in our own time and place. To really listen to anyone with your heart is a  hard thing to do sometimes we have to listen to someone going on about something that is or at least seems to be complete rubbish to us but is really important for the person telling their story. Listening to Jesus means not just hearing his words, but listening  to everything the story of  his life tells us about how we should  live our own lives as a children of God. There are many people out there who hear the story and pay it lips service but don’t take it to heart. Jesus, trusted completely in His Father’s plan for him with faith that recognized his dependence on his Father. This is the same sort of faith that you and I are asked to embrace during lent and throughout our lives. For us in 2020 this gospel asks us to listen to Jesus words and bring them into our lives so that by our words and actions we will be able to transform and transfigure our own lives and the lives of those around us.

In our Lenten journey this week, may we keep in mind that God and the community around us provide us with encouragement and strength to continue our lives rooted in faith. So let us keep on going this Lent so that we will be able to celebrate the Easter Feast renewed in Heart and soul.