Even at the Brink of Hopelessness.... (Wednesday, Easter Octave, 2021)

-

It is EASIER TO SING and TALK about having FAITH in God and having HOPE for a better future; but quite DIFFICULT TO HAVE and SUSTAIN this FAITH and be HOPEFUL when life seems to have "perpetually" confined us in a seemingly hopeless situation.

 

In Acts 3:1-10, there was a lame man from birth who stood up and walked when he experienced the resurrection power. This man must have lost hope and faith. In fact, he was not at the Beautiful Gate to ask for healing; he was there to ask for alms. For him, all hope of being healed was gone but God showed up when he least expected it. By the name of the Risen Lord, the “tomb” of his hopelessness was shattered and “life” was miraculously communicated to his lame and dead limbs. The message of Easter is a powerful message of hope that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will surely show up for us even when we least expect Him.


In Luke 24:13-35, we hear about two disciples who were leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus. They were distraught, troubled in mind: all hope was gone because the One whom they have followed and so much believed in was nowhere to be found. They were leaving Jerusalem; they were moving away from the centre of the early Church. This is very typical of some Christians in our time: out of hopelessness, many of us have lost interest in the church; in fact, many have literally left the church.


At the brink of their hopelessness, Jesus showed up, revived their faith and hope and filled them with fresh zeal which helped them to return to Jerusalem, to return to the Church and actively become part of its mission of spreading the message of the Risen Lord.


Let us keep on hoping, let us keep on believing even when it is pointless to do so, even when all hope is fading away. The God who shows up when it is least expected is already doing something about your situation. Even when the bones are dead and rotten, the Power from Above can still cover them with “flesh” and clothe them with “life”. Again, continue to believe and hope! Don’t give up!


PUNCHLINE

It is EASIER TO TALK about having FAITH in God and having HOPE for a better future; but quite DIFFICULT TO HAVE & SUSTAIN this FAITH and be HOPEFUL when life seems to have "perpetually" confined us in a hopeless situation. Our situations may be seemingly “hopeless” like that of the lame man (from birth) and the Emmaus disciples. But God will certainly show up even at the brink of hopelessness. Let’s keep on hoping, let’s keep on believing even when it is pointless to do so. The God who shows up when it is least expected is already doing something about your situation. Even when the bones are dead and rotten, the Power from Above can still cover them with “life”.


Prayer 

May our faith never fade away, may our hope never disappear. May the Power of the Risen Lord revive and revitalise us, Amen!


Have a blessed day!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gifts versus the Giver (Monday, Week 20, Year II)

-
Image
A gift, by the virtue of what it is, is given. In other words, there must be a giver. Gift can come or be in the form of a good friendship or relationship, material thing, good job, personal talent, and so on. Every cherished gift is the delight of our eyes, the pride of our power and the desire of our souls. The gifts that we possess should then remind us of the giver. It smacks of arrogance and ingratitude when gifts are used without acknowledging or making reference to the giver. For the Jews, the Temple or Sanctuary was the delight of their eyes, the pride of their power and the desire of their souls. It was a precious gift which they jealously guarded. However, they adorned the Sanctuary but did not truly adore the One for whom the Sanctuary exists. They were too attached to the “gift” (sanctuary) but were completely detached from the Giver of the gift – from Yahweh. Ezekiel prophesied to them that this sanctuary which was their delight will be profaned and taken away from them. M
Read more

Persecution and Triumph, the Two Realities of Christian life (Saturday, Week 33, Year 2, The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

-
Image
The book of Revelation is full of symbols and imageries that need to be carefully interpreted for us to understand the message they communicate. In today’s first reading (cf. Rev. 11:4-12), John was told about two olive trees and two lamp stands serving as witnesses to the Holy One. Who or what do these two sets of witnesses (olive trees and lamp stand) stand for? When we read further in order to understand what happened to these two witnesses, it may be a bit clear to us that the “two witnesses” may be pointing to Moses and Elijah, judging from what they did on earth and what they stand for. Moses stands for the Law; and Elijah stands for the Prophet. Anyone who bears witness as Moses bore witness to the Law of God must be persecuted by the beast as the first reading (from the Book of Revelation) recounted. Anyone who bears witness to the messages of truth as Elijah and other prophets did must be persecuted just as the prophets were persecuted. Persecution is a fate that awaits every
Read more

Enkindle the Embers of Unity, Quench the Fire of Disunity (Wednesday, Week 22, Year A)

-
Image
For some time now, we have heard Paul talk about the spiritual and the unspiritual: what it means to live and operate on the level of the Spirit (the spiritual) and on the level of the flesh (the unspiritual). Paul was very emphatic about this topic possibly because he was addressing a group of people who were too intellectual and academic in their approach to the things of God and all of that. Remember that the Corinthians were Greek; and the ancient Greeks were known to be too particular and more interested in intellectualism, sophistry, philosophy and human wisdom. And we must not forget that Paul has been very suspicious of over-reliance on worldly/human wisdom in understanding and appreciating the things of the Spirit. To rely more on human/worldly wisdom is a sign that one may be operating on the level of the flesh; and to operate on the level of the flesh breeds a whole lot of vices such as division or sectionalism, hedonism, and so on. In today’s section of that letter to the C
Read more