Lazarus, Come Out!
Today, the 5th Sunday in Lent, we conclude the trilogy of instructions taken from the Gospel of John for Catechumens. The gospel readings of the previous two Sundays focused on water (Jn 4) and light (Jn 9). Today our focus is on life (Jn 11). These three narratives, centring on the three primordial elements, are a build up to the Easter vigil which will also revolve around water, light and new life. These three elements simply point to Christ, the source of life.
The gospel narrative of today is a sign performed by Jesus in order to reveal his identity: “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11: 25). It is also an invitation to participate in the promise of Jesus: “I came that they may have life, […]
Year A
Year A Sunday Sermons
Sermon for 4th Sunday in Lent – Year A Homily
Coming to see Jesus, the Light of the World
The gospel reading of this Sunday (the 2nd in the sequel) invites us to reflect on the story of the encounter between Jesus, the man born blind, his parents, and the Pharisees, so that we may experience Jesus as the Light of the World. What does light do? It dispels darkness; it makes us recognise possibilities. In the context of the gospel of today, the light helps us recognise God in person of Jesus.
The gospel text of today offers us three possible attitudes: (a) indifference towards Jesus – the position of the parents of the blind man; (b) blatant denial of the true nature of Jesus – the position of the Pharisees because they are caught up in the web of their Sabbath laws; and (c) […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 3rd Sunday of Lent
The Living Water
3rd Sunday in Lent – Cycle A
As I have pointed out in my reflection of last week, during the first two Sundays of Lent every year we have the same themes. The gospel text of the 1stSunday of Lent is always about the temptations of Jesus – from the three synoptic Gospels according to the three year cycle. Similarly, the 2nd Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on the story of Transfiguration. The remaining three Sundays before the Palm Sunday in Cycle A are special. The gospel passages are taken from the Gospel of John and they develop three central themes of our experience of Jesus that are particularly important for the catechumens – those adults who are preparing to be baptised during Easter:
Jesus, the Living Water (Jn 4: the Samaritan woman) – 3rd Sunday of Lent
Jesus, the […]
Sermon for 2nd Sunday in Lent – Year A Homily
2nd Sunday in Lent – Year A
Transfiguration: Towards an Experience of God in Jesus
Mountains are perceived to be locations of God-experience in many traditional cultures and in many world religions. This is true also in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It is not by chance then that one of the classical works of St John of the Cross is called, The Ascent of Mount Carmel (1579); and more recently, Thomas Merton entitles his autobiography as, The Seven-Storey Mountain (1948).
The gospel readings of the first two Sundays of Lent follow a certain pattern in all the three year cycles. The first Sunday of Lent we always meditate on the temptations of Jesus, and on the 2nd Sunday on the transfiguration of the Lord. The focal point of the event of transfiguration is a mountain. The narration from Matthew describing the transfiguration clearly has three parts:
Going up the […]
Sermon for 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
You are the salt of the earth… and light of the World (Mt 5:13-14)
The sentences that we hear in the gospel reading of today immediately follow the Beatitudes. It is still part of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the World” (Mt 5:13-14). Maintaining the same tone of the Beatitude (Blessed are you…), the opening line of today’s gospel is a promise and an invitation: You are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world, and you be the salt of the earth and light of the world. What does that mean?
Let me start with the easier part – at least in meaning if not in practice: You are the light […]