4th Sunday of Lent
2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23
Eph 2:4-10
Jn 3:14-21
“…but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light…”
Recently, I watched a classic movie called ‘Groundhog Day’. In the film, the protagonist finds himself reliving the same Groundhog Day over and over again, trapped in a time loop that he could not break out of. At the beginning of his ordeal, he adopted a hedonistic approach to life, committing crimes blatantly and engaging in random hook-ups. He also took advantage of his predicament to gather personal information about his colleague and love interest, in the hope that he could use that information to get her to fall in love with him. However, no matter how hard he tried, he failed to win her over. Eventually, he took on a different approach, improving himself through learning various skills and helping the people in the town even though it did not mean much when the day resets itself again. There came a day when his love interest, seeing his kindness and selflessness towards others, finally fell for him. When that happened, time returned to normal.
Like many others who have seen this film, I could not help but draw parallels between the protagonist’s redemptive arc and Christian living. A self-centred and self-serving attitude to living may not seem to matter much, especially when one is still young and the concept of death feels distant and remote. There appears to be time, somehow, to simply drift along. But when one commits to living a meaningful life that is focused on honouring God, the true meaning of authentic living comes forth, and that is when one can really experience God’s grace and mercy.
During this time of Lent, it may be helpful to review whether and how we have lived authentic lives as Christians. While it is important to drop bad habits, it may be more valuable, and also more difficult, to start cultivating good ones.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Edith Koh)
Prayer: We pray for the grace, courage and strength to live more authentically in God’s love.
Thanksgiving: We thank God for the people and events that motivate us to change our habits for the better.
OXYGEN 
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