“WHERE WERE YOU?” (Jn 11:1-45): 09 March 2008 (5th Sunday of Lent)
Whenever I read this gospel passage at wakes, the one line that always strikes me is Martha’s words to Jesus, which her sister Mary repeats later on: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Looking around a roomful of grieving faces, I can’t help but feel that they who mourn the passing of their loved ones have the same words for the Lord: “Lord, if you had been here, my loved one would not have died!”
“CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF GALILEE?” (Jn 7:40-53): 08 March 2008 (Saturday)
When I was a shy and skinny six-year old kid in Kindergarten, my teacher had this brilliant idea of putting up a play called “Prince Charming and Cinderella”–in Mandarin! Thankfully, no dialogue had to be memorized since all the lines had been pre-recorded. All we kids had to do was run around and pretend we were speaking the lines (Think “Meteor Garden” or “Jewel in the Palace” and you get the picture).
“MUST YOU GO ABOUT IN SECRET?” (Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30): 07 March 2008 (Friday)
How ironic that in today’s reading, to celebrate a feast, our Lord had to go “not openly, but as it were, in secret.” It’s of course understandable since the Jews were out to kill him, but when we think about it, it’s true even today. Even today, thousands of years after his death and resurrection, the Lord continues to go about in secret.
“CAN I BE A SHINING LAMP FOR YOU?” (Jn 5:31-47): 06 March 2008 (Thursday)
The Lord gives a long speech in today’s gospel, as he typically does in John’s gospel, but one line leapt out of the screen when I read it (I was reading the passage from an online Bible). Referring to John the Baptist, he says, “He was a burning and shining lamp.”
My first thought: Can I be the same? I know my shortcomings and my sinfulness, but for some reason, I felt the question from inside me: “Can I also be a burning and shining lamp?”
‘WHY CAN’T IT ALWAYS BE SO GOOD?’ (Jn 5:17-30): 05 March 2008 (Wednesday)
One of the first hits of the band Lighthouse Family is “Lost in Space”–an obvious love song where the singer typically waxes poetry about his beloved. I don’t know if it’s some of the lines in the song (“How will I ever get to Heaven without you?”) or the title of the album (“Postcards from Heaven”) or even the music video (which features the giant statue of Christ, arms outstretched over Sao Paolo), but for some reason, I’ve always attached a religious or spiritual meaning to this song.