5th Sunday of Lent
Ez 37:12-14
Rm 8:8-11
Jn 11:1-45
“Let us go too, and die with him”
Persecution is a real struggle for all around us. It is often understood to be the death of physical life for the sake of Jesus but instead, we need to understand that persecution can be subtle. It can take the case of Christians not being able to live their way of life in the common space. It can also be the compromises we have to make in order for us to fit in. The readings of today serve to encourage us to soldier on with the faith regardless of the struggles we face.
St Paul reminds us that we are persecuted because we exhibit a behaviour which is hated by the rest of the world. Our actions and words act counter to what the world thinks. The life of the Christian is animated by the Holy Spirit who guides each and every of our action. The First Reading reminds us that the Holy Spirit is what revives the ‘dead’ soul — the soul which has forgotten what it means to be in deep communion with Jesus. The season of Lent has gone by in a flash, and we are busy with the demands of work in our life. Yet, we need to remind ourselves that as we begin this last week of Lent and before Holy Week, we need to recollect our thoughts and re-orientate towards Jesus. This is easier said than done; there is always an additional email to send, or another message to reply to. But if we can focus on what truly matters in the end, it will help us to understand that the present life as we live it is not the permanent way of life.
Today’s Gospel reading is long, but I wish to focus our attention on the state of Lazarus when he was called out by Jesus from the tomb. Lazarus’ hands and feet were bound with bands of stuff and a cloth around his face. In contrast, the clothes in which Jesus was buried in were folded and left in the tomb. The difference lies in the fact that Lazarus, who was called out of the tomb, will eventually have to die — the cloth which bound him was the indicator that he would eventually die. Jesus, however, through his Resurrection, conquered Death permanently. In our lives, we may have the ‘cloth’ of sin and attachment to things of this world holding us back. The season of Lent has allowed us the opportunity to enter into the inner wilderness of our lives to purge the ‘cloth’ holding us back from being part of the Resurrection which awaits us after our journey of struggles and persecution. May we take this remaining week of Lent to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us towards understanding that it is only Jesus, in whom we can trust, to bring us to fulfil what the Baltimore Catehchism reminds us — that the purpose of why God made us is “to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.”
Blessed Lent to all readers.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Dear Jesus, let us be prepared to walk the way to Calvary wholeheartedly
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who continue to be persecuted for their faith
OXYGEN 
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