FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A, 2026 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 

 

Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130:1-8; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. How is your Lenten journey going? Have you fulfilled the Lenten obligations of Repentance (Confession), Almsgiving (works of charity), Fasting and Abstinence, and Prayer?

The first reading was Ezekiel’s prophecy to the people of Israel while they were in exile in Babylon. They had resigned to hopelessness that they would never be free and would never return to their homeland. Through Ezekiel, God gave hope to them. Ezekiel prophesied, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them… I will put my spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you upon your land…” Ezekiel prophesied spirit, life, and restoration in place of death and grave.

This prophecy was fulfilled in about 597 BC when King Cyrus of Persia released the people of Israel to return to their land. They did not fight for their freedom. An additional blessing they received was that they left Babylon with so much gold and silver (5,400 articles of gold and silver) to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Following the King’s decree, the Babylonians provided the Israelites with silver and gold, goods and livestock, and freewill offerings for the temple (Ezra 1:1-11). Although the Israelites never believed that there was hope for them to return to their homeland, but when it was God’s time, it came very fast and with unexpected blessings.

In the gospel, Lazarus was dead and was in the grave for four days. Jesus brought him back to life. It was a hopeless case before Jesus arrived. When Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill, he did not proceed immediately to visit Lazarus. It took him four days before he arrived. Jesus ordered that the stone be taken away and ordered Lazarus to come out. Lazarus came out with hand and foot tied with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. Jesus ordered, “Untie him and let him go.” Jesus is the one who commands “prisoners: come out” and “those in darkness: Show yourselves,” as prophesied in Isaiah 49:9. But we are the ones who obey or disobey.

After seventy years in captivity, the Israelites got their freedom. After four days in the grave, Lazarus came back to life. This means that, sometimes, challenging times can last for a long time. Since we do not know God’s divine will, we are encouraged to stand strong in faith and persevere in prayer. Jesus promises in Matthew 24:13, “The one who perseveres to the end will be saved.”

The Israelites never believed that they would return to their homeland. Nobody could have imagined that Lazarus would live again having been buried for four days. “With God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:6). God promises, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them … I have promised and, I will do it” (Ezekiel 37:14). “I will never forget you” (Isaiah 49:15).

In the gospel of last Sunday, Jesus was asked, ‘“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him’” (John 9:3). Today, we read, ‘“Master, the one you love is ill.’ When Jesus heard this, he said, ‘This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the son of God may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). We pray that the works of God be made visible and God be glorified through our unpleasant situations. St. Paul writes, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Jesus says to us what he said to Martha, “Did I not tell that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”

The Israelites were under the yoke of slavery in Babylon. We may have our yokes enslaving us. May God free us from our yokes. Lazarus was dead and, in the grave, covered by a stone. He was bound hand and foot, and his face wrapped in a cloth. We may be feeling like being in the grave. We may be feeling like we are weighed down by a large stone. We may be feeling like tied by hand and foot. We may be feeling like our face is wrapped in a cloth. May Jesus weep over our situations as he wept over Lazarus’ death, and free us from our affliction as he freed Lazarus from death. We express our faith in Jesus as Martha did, “But even now [we] know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”

We pray with St. Paul (in the second reading): May the Spirit of the One who raised Christ from the dead give life to our mortal bodies. May the Spirit of the One who raised Christ from the dead break our yokes, remove the stones weighing upon us, raise us up from our graves, untie our bands, and set us free. Amen.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A, 2026 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Psalm 23:1-6; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called ‘Laetare’ Sunday, meaning Sunday of Joy. ‘Laetare’ (Latin) means ‘rejoice.’ It comes from the first word of today’s Mass entrance antiphon, “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast” (Isaiah 66:10-11). In the past, the Lenten season used to be very austere. The Fourth Sunday of Lent, being a mid-way of the Lenten season, used to be a day to relax austere fasting. ‘Laetare’ Sunday foreshadows the hope and joy that await us at Easter. It is also known as “Rose Sunday” because rose-colored vestments are traditionally worn.

In the first reading, Samuel did not know who God was going to choose to replace Saul as the king of Israel. God guided him until he anointed David. “Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.’ but the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Do not judge from appearance or from lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.’” Samuel would have made a wrong choice if he had not followed God’s guidance.  The first reading has a few lessons for us.

 (1) Appearance can be deceptive. Therefore, we must not make judgements and conclusions, hastily, based on appearance, initial impressions, and thoughts. Sometimes, there is more than meets the eye. Sometimes, what is on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg. We hear it often said, “All that glitters is not gold.”  Discernment and prayer are important before decisions are made. It is important to listen attentively to God and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

(2) Samuel did not depend on what was presented to him. He made inquiry: ‘“Are these all the sons you have?’ Jesse replied, ‘There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he arrives here.”’ We must not be afraid or reluctant to ask valid questions which may help to a better understanding of the matter or help to unravel the truth. My dad, God rest his soul, used to tell me, "Son, do not call a mirage a river.”

(3) Someone says, “Do not be discouraged. It is often the last key in the bunch that unlocks the lock.” David was the last key in the bunch. If you try and fail, try, try, try again!

(4) Jesse never imagined that the youngest of his sons could be considered for such an exulted position. Let us not underestimate what God can do in and through us or what God can do in and through someone else.

(5) God knows the heart of each one of us. We can deceive our fellow human beings, but we cannot deceive God. The Lord said to Samuel, “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We pray for those who, by the nature of their calling or responsibility, must make judgements on others that they may be open to the wisdom and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We pray, too, for all of us that we may seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit in our choices and judgements.

In the gospel, the physically blind man who was healed by Jesus, recognized Jesus as a prophet and worshipped him. Meanwhile, the spiritually blind Jews refused to see God’s wonderful work in Jesus and did not recognize that Jesus came from God.

The Jews ridiculed the man who was healed by Jesus and “threw him out” of the synagogue because he continued to insist that Jesus came from God. He was expelled from the synagogue because he rejected falsehood and insisted on the truth. How often does this happen among us, that people who insist on the truth are ridiculed, suppressed, or even eliminated?

Spiritual blindness is an impairment of the mind that causes a person to lose sight of right judgement and truth. We are spiritually blind when we do not recognize God’s presence and his wonderful work. We are spiritually blind when we do not recognize God’s goodness in others and in ourselves. We are spiritually blind when we do not recognize the hurts and damage we cause to others and to ourselves.

In one way or another, all of us have some degree of spiritual blindness. St. Paul encourages us in the second reading to “take no part in the fruitless works of darkness” but to receive the light of Christ. St. Paul writes, “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.”

We pray that as the blind man in the gospel received his healing, our rulers and leaders whose blindness brings so much suffering in our society and in our world be healed of their blindness. Samuel was blind as to who to anoint the king of Isreal until God guided him. May we receive God’s guidance to see the paths forward even where there is dead-end. May the testimonies of God’s guidance and healing glorify his Holy Name. Amen.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A, 2026 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42

In the first reading, the Israelites thirsted for water as they journeyed in the desert. In their difficulty, they did not cry to God. Rather, they grumbled against Moses.

Sometimes, our life’s journey run out of ‘water’ as it was for the Israelites in the desert. Do we behave like the Israelites, grumble against one another, blame one another, and fight one another; instead of coming together, reasoning together, and working together? Do we pray together for God’s intervention, guidance, and direction? When the people grumbled, nothing happened. But when Moses cried to God in prayer, something happened. This event teaches us the power of prayer.

God directed Moses to strike the rock with the miracle staff in his hand. He did, and water flowed from the rock for the people.  The solution was in Moses’ hand, but he did not know it. The solution to our problem may be right before us. We need to always pray for God’s divine guidance and direction.

Many times, God brings solutions through unexpected and unlikely means. May be, the expectation of the people was a rain fall or finding a cistern anywhere nearby for them to have some water.  Rather, God made water flow from rock. Our God is a God of surprises.

St. Paul encourages us in the second reading that our hope in God does not disappoint; in that God pours out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Such outpouring is empowering and uplifting amid every difficult situation where the Holy Spirit is welcome. With such outpouring, we are never consumed by the hard times. With such outpouring, we look up to our faithful God rather than grumble. Such out pouring binds hearts together.

In the gospel, during Jesus’ time, most Jews, who traveled between Judea and Galilee, would take a longer route which bypassed Samaria to avoid the people there, “For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.” But Jesus, intentionally, went through Samaria on his way to Galilee to show that he came for the Jews and also the Gentiles. St. Paul writes, “For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity” (Ephesians 2:14).

Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down at the Jacob’s well, resting and waiting for his apostles who went to the town to buy food. Then, the Samaritan woman came to draw water. The woman was wounded in many ways. She had had five husbands and was at that moment cohabiting with a man. We do not know her past life with the five men, but we can conclude that it was not a pleasant one. One man is tough enough; how much more are five husbands and cohabiting with a man. That is six men. The Samaritan woman was very resilient!

From all indications, she was bearing the wounds of frustration, disappointment, isolation, and humiliation. She came to draw water alone, at noon, at an hour when she would meet nobody. Usually, water was fetched in the morning and in the evening, hardly in the middle of the day. It was also strange, at that time, for a woman to go anywhere all alone, not in a company of other women. Although the woman came to draw water, but Jesus saw that she needed healing and salvation much more than ordinary water.

The Samaritan woman was healed, liberated, and transformed. Her deliverance had immediate effect. She was filled with the joy of salvation. She became a witness and an evangelizer. She left her jar, meaning that ordinary water was not what she needed. She hurried into the town and testified her experience to her people. Many followed her to see Jesus and began to believe in him. At their invitation, Jesus stayed two days with them preaching to them. Jesus stayed with the Samaritans who were avoided by the Jews. The Samaritans said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”  

There are many people who are dried up like the Israelites in the desert or wounded like the Samaritan woman or discriminated against like the Samaritans. We are spiritually in union with them in our prayers as we celebrate this Eucharist. May we and those we are praying for encounter Jesus, the giver of the living water which wells up to eternal life, so that as Isaiah says, “With joy [we] will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). As water flowed from the rock in the desert, may God’s graces flow from this sanctuary (our spiritual rock) as we celebrate this Eucharist.

Isaiah 55:1 invites us, “All you who are thirsty, come to the waters ... without money and without cost.” As we have come Mass, may he satisfy our thirst and fill our hunger with good things (Psalm 107:9). Psalm 34:18-21 assures us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those whose spirit is crushed. Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He watches over all their bones; not one of them shall be broken.” Psalm 147: 3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds.” May he pour out his unfailing love upon us [through the Holy Spirit] as we place all our hope in him (Psalm 33:22). Amen.

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A, 2026 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22; 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9

Last Sunday’s first reading was about the sin of disobedience of Adam and Eve which caused their expulsion the Garden of Eden. Genesis Chapter 11 is the story of the sin of rebellion of the builders of the Tower of Babel. God scattered the builders over all the earth. After Noah, there was no record in the Book of Genesis of true worshippers of God.

God called Abram to begin a new phase of God’s relationship with human beings, which also marks the beginning of the story of God’s Chosen People. Abram was not a worshipper of God before God called him. Abram and his people who were descendants of Noah were worshippers of Mesopotamian gods. God called Abram to leave his religion, his “kinsfolks, and his father’s house” to where he, God, would reveal himself to him, and make him a great nation. The first reading concludes, “Abram went as the Lord directed him.”

Following Abram response, God began a new relationship with human beings. God is calling us out from our sins of disobedience, our rebellion, and our ‘worship of other gods.’ If we respond to him as Abram did, God will reveal himself in a new way to us. We pray for grace and courage to respond like Abram.

The call of Abram was special. Out of the entire people of Ur of the Chaldeans, God called only one man, Abram, to establish a new relationship and to a great nation. God may be calling anyone of us to something new, to something different, to something great. May we be able to respond positively like Abram and go as God directs.

Abram was 75 years when God called him to begin a new journey and a new life. The call of Abram means that it is never too late to bloom. It is never too late to leave the past sinful and ugly experiences behind and begin a new relationship with God. Let us be patient with ourselves. Let us be patient with late bloomers.

The second reading says, “He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus…” Psalm 130:3-4 says, “If you, Lord, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness.” St. Paul says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Abram did not deserve to be called, yet God called him, according to God’s own design. None of us deserves to be called. But God loves us first (1 John 4:19). We respond positively or negatively to God’s love. The Lenten season is God calling us to a new relationship. Is there anything God is calling us “to go forth from” (leave behind) for this new relationship to take place?

In the gospel, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and transfigured before them; “his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” Jesus took them to witness his transfiguration so that they could tell others what they witnessed. It is because the three apostles witnessed the transfiguration that the story of what they witnessed is told till this day.

To transfigure means to transform the appearance of something in order to reveal great beauty or magnificence that is present but hidden. Jesus’ glorious nature which was hidden from the apostles was revealed at his transfiguration.

God made each of us with great beauty and magnificence. In Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” We are part of that beauty.  Psalm 139:13-14 confirms that each one of us is wonderfully and beautifully made. Sadly, layers of sins, weaknesses, and ugly experiences hide our wonder and beauty. Therefore, we are invited to transfigure in order that our original beauty and wonder may be revealed. The call to transfigure is a call to conversion and restoration. God tells us in the gospel to listen to Jesus, his beloved Son, if we want to transfigure. Psalm 95:8 calls on us, “Oh, that today you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

God revealed himself in a new way to Abram. Jesus revealed himself in a new way to Peter, James, and John. God wants to reveal himself in a new way to us. Many times, the cost of discipleship, that is the sacrifice, or the selfishness or self-interest, or the mission God is calling us frightens us as the apostles were frightened. Jesus encourages us today, “Rise and do not be afraid.”

There are some other layers that hide our beauty and magnificence, and we pray that God intervenes and removes them: layers of ill-health, of hardship, of trials, of crises, and other afflictions. We need transfiguration in our places of work, places of business, plans, family, parish, Church, and so on. Our Country needs transfiguration. Our political and economic leaders need transfiguration. Our world needs transfiguration. May our hidden beauty and magnificence be revealed and restored. Amen.