30-Mar-2014 Dear Friend,
We have heard it said that while there is life there is hope. But often in life we tend to give up too easily. We fail in an exam and we feel that it’s the end for me. We apply for a job and are rejected a number of times and conclude, “I’m no good! I’ll never make it!” Yet a believer is challenged to keep hoping, to believe that God has not given up and that He can make the impossible possible if we trust in Him! Have a ‘hope-filled’, ‘life-giving’ weekend!–Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: Fifth Sunday of Lent The Promise of New Life in the Spirit 06-April-2014 Readings: Ezekiel 37: 12-14; Romans 8: 8-11; John 11: 1-45 In the first reading the prophet Ezekiel speaks to the people in exile about the restoration of Israel. Though defeated and reduced to dried bones following the exile in Babylon, God’s life-giving spirit will restore the people of Israel and the people will once more enjoy peace and prosperity in their own country. The prophet looks forward to a time when his people will recognize and acknowledge what their God has done for them in restoring them to their land after their exile. In life there are times when we feel lifeless, when the will to live ebbs away. It is at these moments that we are called to believe that God has not abandoned us but will renew us with His Spirit. Old Rattle Bones Many years ago there was a man, crippled and poor, who was cruelly named “Old Rattle Bones” by a group of boys in the neighbourhood. The leader of the group, Freddie, was worried one day when he saw the crippled man heading right towards his home. The boy attempted to hide his anxiety by taunting. “Go on, Old Rattle Bones,” he shouted, “see if I care if you talk to my mother.” The man looked at Freddie sadly as he passed the group of boys and said, “You would not be calling me such names if you knew what caused my crippled condition.” He continued along the street arriving at Freddie’s home, whereupon he was warmly welcomed by Freddie’s mother. She called for her son to come in also. While the mother brought out a pot of tea, the man turned to the boy and told him a story. “Years ago on the first day of spring, a young mother took a baby outdoors for a carriage ride along the river. Stooping to pick a flower, she briefly let go of the handle; suddenly the carriage lurched forward, careening down the hill. Before she could catch up with the carriage, it had plunged into the river. I was sitting on a nearby bench and heard her scream. I ran after the buggy and jumped into the river. After a difficult struggle I managed to get the baby safely back to shore. I left before anyone could ask my name. But the river water was very cold, and it aggravated my rheumatism. Now ten years later, I can scarcely hobble along. For you see Freddie, that baby was you.” Freddie hung his head in shame and began to cry. “Thank you for saving me,” he wept. “Can you ever forgive me for calling you ‘Old Rattle Bones’? I didn’t know who you were!” Brian Cavanaugh in ‘Sowers Seeds of Christian Family Values’ The Gospel gives the account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Martha, Mary and Lazarus are friends of Jesus and naturally when Lazarus falls gravely ill they immediately send for him. They perhaps expected Jesus to rush to the house of his friend. Yet, the Gospel tells us that Jesus, on receiving the message stayed where he was for two full days before going to see Lazarus. In fact he goes when Lazarus is already dead, but he insists that he is asleep. We want God to act when we feel it is right. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Faith in Jesus invites us to go beyond, to believe that He is Lord of life and that everything happens in His time. Humanly speaking Jesus could have gone when Martha and Mary expected him. Rather, he comes to be with them and shares in their grief. He weeps with them at the loss of Lazarus. But going further He invited Martha and Mary to a deeper faith. When they object to removing the stone that covers the cave he reminds them: “Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” Jesus the Lord of life is constantly calling us to a life of faith; to come forth from whatever is keeping us in bondage. He says: “Lazarus come forth!” Jesus challenges us to believe and come forth today to new life. Giving up hope until… A pastor tells of the experience of a young woman at a local children’s hospital. She was asked by a teacher from the church to tutor a boy with some school work while he was in hospital. The woman didn’t realize that the boy in a burns unit, was in considerable pain and barely able to respond. She tried to tutor him, stumbling through the English lesson, ashamed of putting him through such a senseless exercise. The next day when she returned to the hospital, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to the boy?” Before she could finish apologizing, the nurse interrupted her: “You don’t understand. His entire attitude has changed. It’s as though he has decided to live!” A few weeks later, the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until this young woman arrived. With joyful tears he explained, “They wouldn’t send a tutor to work on nouns and verbs with a dying boy, would they? –Sometimes we are invited into people’s lives and into places and events that, on the surface, have no meaning or purpose to us. We ask ourselves, what are we doing here? What purpose do we have here? Often we define ourselves only by what we can see or understand; we forget that we are part of something larger than ourselves. Anonymous Born to live, Born to fly! There is a story told of an eaglet that somehow ended in a chicken barnyard. The eaglet was raised with the chickens, pecking at corn and strutting around the chicken coop. One day, a mountain man passing by, recognized the bird, now a fully grown eagle, and asked the farmer if he could rehabilitate it. The farmer said, “Go ahead, but it’s useless. All that the eagle knows is pecking corn like a chicken.” The mountaineer began weeks of rigorous training with the eagle, forcing it to run after him so that it had to use its wings. Many times the eagle fell out of the limbs of trees onto its head. One day, finally, the mountaineer took the eagle to the top of a mountain and held it above his head on his wrist. Giving an upward thrust of his arm, he sent the eagle into the sky with a “Fly!” The eagle circled and wheeled upwards, straining, till it soon took off in a majestic sweep and looked directly into the sun. It was gone. It had regained its nature. It was an eagle once more! Gerard Fuller in ‘Stories for All Seasons’ Resurrection The interviewer asked Joseph of Arimathea, “Now the grave you lent is yours again. What are you planning to do with it?” Joseph took a long look at him, and then confided. “When I heard that he had risen, naturally I raced to the tomb. He was not there. He had given my tomb back to me. So what I did after that was: I placed a comfortable bench under the trees just opposite the opening of the tomb. In the evening as the sun is going down, I go and sit there and think to myself, Jesus of Nazareth has slept in this tomb and God raised him from death. Joseph of Arimathea will also lie in this tomb, and what will God do with him?’ Jesus had said, ‘I live and you shall live’. I can depend on that word.” Hans-Georg Lubkoll Unconditional love changes everything In 1976 a car accident tore open the head of a 21-year-old Chicago boy named Peter. His brain was damaged and he was thrown into a deep coma. Doctors told Peter’s family and friends that he probably wouldn’t survive. Even if he did, he’d always be in a comatose state. One of the people who heard that frightening news was Linda, the girl Peter planned to marry. In the sad days ahead, Linda spent all her spare time in the hospital. Night after night, she’d sit at Peter’s bedside, pat his cheek, rub his brow, and talk to him. “It was like we were on a normal date,” she said. All the while, Peter remained in a coma unresponsive to Linda’s loving presence. Night after night, for three and a half months, Linda sat at Peter’s bedside speaking words of encouragement to him, even though he gave no sign that he heard her. Then one night Linda saw Peter’s toe move. A few nights later she saw his eyelash flutter. This was all she needed. Against the advice of the doctors, she quit her job and became his constant companion. She spent hours massaging his arms and legs. Eventually she arranged to take him home. She spent all her savings on a swimming pool, hoping that the sun and the water would restore life to Peter’s motionless limbs. Then came the day when Peter spoke his first word since the accident. It was only a grunt, but Linda understood it. Gradually, with Linda’s help, those grunts turned into words-clear words. Finally the day came when Peter was able to ask Linda’s father if he could marry her. Linda’s father said “When you can walk down the aisle, Peter, she’ll be yours.” Two years later Peter walked down the aisle of Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Chicago. He had to use a walker, but he was walking. Every television station in Chicago covered that wedding. Newspapers across the country carried pictures of Linda & Peter. Celebrities phoned to congratulate them. Families with loved ones in comas called to ask their advice. Today, Peter is living a normal life. He talks slowly, but clearly. He walks slowly but without a walker. He and Linda even have a lovely child. Mark Link in ‘Sunday Homilies’ May we believe that new life is possible in and through Jesus Christ! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
