Fourth Sunday of Lent-a

Fourth Sunday in Lent 

Once an Ontario farmer and a Texan  talked to each other. The Texan said, "how much land do you have". The Ontario man said, "About hundred acres". Then the Texan, "if I begin to drive my car in my ranch, it takes almost evening to reach the other end". The Ontario farmer said, "I can completely understand...I used to have a car like that".  

Once a husband and wife went a camping trip and in the middle of the night, she woke her husband up and said, "What do you see?" The husband said, "I see millions of stars". And what does that tell you? The husband said, "Astronomically, there are billions of galaxies up there and astrologically, the Venus is in Leo and theologically, God who created all is almighty and we are nothing but dust". 

The husband then looked at his wife and said, "What does it that tell you?" The wife said, "you genius...somebody has stolen our tent". 

The husband was clever enough to know the complexities of the stars but missed what was plain and simple. Today's gospel reading is about a whole lot of people who miss the point. In Jesus' healing of a blind man, the Pharisees missed the amazing miracle by divine intervention. 

When I was studying philosophy, our seminary asked us to have a different experience with people who were physically or mentally challenged. I went to help blind children at home for the blind run by sisters of Charity belonged to Saint Mother Teresa. All I had to do is just read a book to a blind boy and everything went well for a week and one day, because of monsoon and torrential rain, the electricity went off. Everything was completely dark and I was afraid to get out. That time, that little blind boy said, "Please hold my hand and I will take you out". All long I was judging him so low and that boy opened my eyes that day to see the reality. Everyone is so precious and important in the sight of God and thus we see how Christ loved the blind man so much and opened his eyes.   

There is a beautiful story about Cardinal Newman. When he was a teacher at Oxford, he got sick and he wanted to go home in England but no transportation was available. As he was waiting alone, he cried out to God saying, "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom. Lead thou me on. The night is dark and I am far from home; lead thou me on. Keep thou my feet and I don't ask to see the distance scene-one step enough for me and thus he concluded the beautiful poem asking God to lead him to light and thus he finally arrived home, yes he converted to Roman Catholic faith. 

Cardinal Newman's cry is everybody's cry today. We are all blinded by so many things and are struggling to find God in and around us. 

We have all heard the phrase, "Seeing is believing". The idea comes, I suppose, from skeptical people who won't believe anything until they see it for themselves. 

For example, St. Thomas, " I will not believe unless I put my finger into His wounds and my hand in my side".  What did Jesus say, "Blessed are those who haven't seen and yet have come to believe".  

Today's gospel 'seeing is believing' is paradoxically both proved and disproved. It's proved that the blind man who got his sight recognized Christ as the Son of God. But on the other hand, those Pharisees and Scribes could not see and recognize Christ. The blind man could see but the sighted Pharisees failed to see. 

Conclusion: 

Though we are given the blessing of sight, Do we see and recognized Christ in our everyday life. Do we see Him in our brothers and sisters in need. As we celebrate Lent, let us open our eyes and see Christ as our Lord and God. 

There is an old story about a blind beggar with a sign saying, "Please help me  I am blind". Every day the blind beggar was largely ignored by the passersby. One day, a man rewrote that sign and went away. The blind man didn't know what was written but everyone who saw the sign stopped by and helped the blind man. Yes, the sign said, "What a beautiful day and I can't see. Please help"   

As we celebrate the season of Lent, let us open ourselves to see what is going on around us and find Christ in every suffering person. God bless. Amen.  

Third Sunday of Lent -A

The Samaritan Woman. 

By the way, last Thursday, I went to the Anglican church for Lenten talk and I said that once an Anglican man called the Catholic priest and said, "Father, would you please come and pray for my wife who is sick?' The priest said, "No...problem and what happened to your minister?' The Anglican man said, "We love our minister so much and my wife has a mysterious illness and we don't want him to get sick". Then I continued saying, "If I get sick coming to this church, I will blame it on you Anglicans".  

Two men are ice-fishing on Sunday and feeling a bit guilty about not being in Church. One man said , "I wouldn't have gone to Church anyway? The other asked 'Why?'  Because my wife is sick in bed with flu". 

Once after the birth of his baby brother, a little boy was completely annoyed at all his crying and screaming. He asked his mom, "where did he come anyway?' The mother said, "He came from heaven". The boy said, "Now I know why they threw him out". 

They say that the longest journey in life is from head to heart. The first step on the path to wisdom is the ability to say, "I do not know...." We like to believe that we know a great many things but we understand far few of those things. Once we know that we don't  know  many things and then we will have that willingness to change. We thus come out of our comfort zone and see that there are so many spiritual realities are hidden from us. 

One of the apocryphal gospels, Jesus says,  "Whoever knows the all and fails to know himself , lacks everything". 

Today's gospel passage deals with a Samaritan woman who failed to know herself and also failed to Know God. Then Christ the light opened her mind to spiritual reality and she received the light of Christ. 

Rossini was a famous Italian who composed some beautiful music. The King of France gave him a wrist watch as a token of appreciation. Rossini was very proud of that expensive watch and carried with him so many years and one day as he showed it to his friend who touched a secret spring and a little inner case flew open revealing a beautiful little painting of Rossini himself. The composer never knew that the painting was there. 

Christ our Lord reveals to her that she was also a child of God and from that time onwards everything became so different. 

Today's gospel passage shows the longest interaction of Christ our Lord. 

Christ is crossing so many barriers to reach that lonely, rejected women. He breaks the Jew and Samaritan barrier. He breaks the enmity between the two groups and then He breaks the barrier of men and women. 

Even today in the name of honor killing and even today in the name of family secrets and in the name of religion, community...women are being treated cruelly, they are being stoned to death and abused, physically and sexually tortured. 

They say that no one can be perfectly free till all are free; no one can be perfectly moral till all are moral; and no one can be perfectly happy till all are happy. 

Christ our Lord broke the barrier long ago and gave living water to all who thirst for justice and peace; to all who long for love and forgiveness.  

As the woman of Samaria was longing for life-giving water, Christ said, " The water that I will give a person will become in him a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.  

After receiving the life-giving water, the woman went to her community a changed person. Those who rejected her and those who were looked down upon her began to hear her wods and thus she brought them all to Christ our Lord. 

This life-giving water that Christ is talking about is about our baptism. As we were baptized in Christ, we became so precious and important. We became a changed new spiritual beings.  

There is a story about St. Louis of France who used to sign his documents not, "Louis IX, King' but 'Louis of Poissy". Someone asked him why and the king said, "Poissy' is the place where I was baptized. I think more of the place where I was baptized than of Rhims Cathedral where I was crowed". It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a kingdom'. I will lose this kingdom at death but the baptism will be my passport to an everlasting glory". 

The Greek orthodox tradition venerates and calls the Samaritan woman as  St. Photina or photiona. Photo means light. Since she was enlightened by Christ the light of the world, she got the name. She then became a great missionary of Christ and thus she offered her life for Christ.  

Conclusion: Since we are all received the light of Christ at baptism, we are also called to offer ourselves to Christ the light of the world. So let us abstain from anything that stops us from loving Christ and continue our Lenten journey. Amen.

Second Lent-A

Second Sunday in Lent-A 

One a man ordered three beers and drank them all and he was keep on ordering three beers every day and after a month, the bartender asked him what was going on. The man said, "you know what one of my brother lives in England and the other lives in Australia and I am here in Canada. And we made a promise to each other saying, "every time we drink we will honor the other person too. So that I order three beers... and then one day, the man ordered only two beers and the bartender felt so bad for one the man's brother's death and expressed his condolence as he was serving two beers. The man said, "No...not at all. My two brothers are well and alive. I just gave up drinking for Lent". 

Once a dad was trying to explain Lent to his little boy. At one point, the dad said, "you Should give up something for Lent, something you really miss, like candy". The boy thought for a moment ,then asked, "What are you giving up, dad?' I am giving up liquor said the Father. But I saw you drinking before dinner said the son. The dad said, "Yes, but that was only sherry" and I gave up hard liquor. To which the boy said, "Well then, I think I will give up hard candy". 

Today we celebrate second Sunday in Lent and let us meditate on how we can transform in the presence of Transfigured Christ through means of prayer. Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and works of Charity help us to be with God who sent His Only Son Christ to be with us forever. So let us focus on prayer today. 

Once a mother saw her son being so bad and asked him to pray to God so that he could change him. After his prayer, the mother said, "Did you pray to God to make you good". The boy said, "No...I prayed for you so that God might give you enough strength to put up with me". 

Once some people asked Mother Teresa, "Mom...When you pray what do you say to God?' And she said, "I do not say anything and I just listen to Him". Then they asked, "What does God say to you?' She again looked at them smiled and said, "He doesn't talk either". He listens.  

Prayer means communion, being with God. It is being one with God. It is having a holy experience.  

Prayer a sincere heart poured out prayer helps to identify good from evil. It helps us to say, "No" to sin and Satan. For example, last weekend gospel, as Jesus had finished His forty days and forty nights of prayer and fasting, He was tempted by the Devil. We saw how Christ said, "No" to Satan and "Yes" to the love of God. It is because of His prayers, everything happened. As we deeply enter into prayer life, we will know how to say "NO' to temptations and evil and "Yes" to the love of God.  

And in today's gospel, Jesus goes to a mountain with His three disciples and while He was praying to His Father, another very important change happened in Him and around Him.  His appearance began to change. He became full of light and because of that change, His garments, cloths also became dazzling white. His disciples witnessed how Moses and Elijah were talking to Christ. Then they heard the voice saying, "He is my beloved Son and listen to Him..." 

These all happened while Christ was praying to his Father. The power of prayer united Him with the Father.  

In 2001 as journalists approached Desmond Tutu who was suffering from prostate cancer and asked, "If he was going to die what would be his last message". He who also helped to shape his country's politics said, "I am not going to talk to you politics but prayer and adoration. Because everything comes from faith and prayer gives that faith". 

In today's old testament reading, because of prayer and faith Abram became Abraham and his small family was blessed to become a nation and in St. Paul urges us to be transformed a new spiritual beings and pray without ceasing.  

Prayer is the key of all treasures in this life and the  hereafter. 

Yes, as we celebrate the season of Lent, we are called to get closer to God and know that we belong to God. Let us keep the Lenten disciplines and pray without ceasing. Amen.