Year 1

March 23, 2020

 

In this moment when we need assurance that everything will be just fine, we still find ourselves dwelling in doubt whether the promises that were made will be true. We are overwhelmed by so many statistical data about what can be. Many of which are never encouraging. We look with dread at the great numbers before our eyes. We wonder whether we can still see the light of another day. 

 

The prognostics that are given by many of the news we saw, heard or read are not encouraging. Sometimes it would just be better if we turn off all the news and hide from it all. It seemed like that we were given a death warrant and there is no way we can escape it. We all know we would die someday but we just do not expect it to happen so soon and in such appalling manner. 

 

There is something in the first reading and the gospel that provides us with something to reflect upon during this time of crisis.

 

The words of the prophet Isaiah calls us to promise of God. The people addressed by Isaiah in the reading are those who have been exiled. Everything was taken away from them. They do not have anything: no prince, no prophet, and no temple. They understood that they have done evil and they deserved the punishment. They also know that they do not deserve anything that is good. And yet God remained faithful to His promise to His people. He will redeem them not because they deserve it but because He loved them. The imagery that Isaiah gave to the people is not simply that of restoring them to the land. It is a vision of something that would remove from their sight the bitter fate that they went through. Everything will be made new. 

 

It is that hope that sustained the people through their years of exile and in the years that would follow. It is a vision so something that may seem remote but that is almost near as if touching it with their fingertips. Hope bridged that gap. It is not a utopia. It is promise that was worth waiting. And the only assurance is that God is faithful to His people even if they were unfaithful to Him.

 

The gospel also points to a similar situation. A royal official came to Jesus asking that Jesus would come down and heal royal official’s son. His son was a the point of death. The story has a surprising twist. Jesus did not go with the royal official to cure his son. Jesus simple told him to go home. And that his “son will live.” 

If you were the in the place of the royal official, would you go home and believe in what Jesus said? Or would you rather beg all the more that Jesus goes with you? Are the words of Jesus enough? Or would you want a more assuring sign? 

 

The official believed in the words of Jesus. That may be easy to say. But just like any human person, the journey back home might be fraught with questions and doubts. There is no other assurance other than the words of Jesus. But he continued on holding on to that promise. He was not dismayed. Jesus did speak the truth. 

 

At this moment of uncertainty, we only have our faith to hang on. We believe in the God-given talents of all those who are searching for solution. We believe in the fact that all are doing their best. We believe that the great gap between sufficient and insufficient will one day be filled up. We believe that God is ever more involve in our struggle and continues to sustain our efforts. And we do hope that we shall see the light of day. We will never remain entombed.

 

This evening a friend of mine asked me if it is alright to decorate the church with an empty cross and an empty tomb since we will not be celebrating Easter. This is my response to him:

 

“We will have Easter with or without the people in the liturgical celebration. We will still proclaim the Easter proclamation, the EXULTET, and proclaim it boldly on Easter Vigil. We will still proclaim that Jesus is alive. And so we shall be.”

 

Let us proclaim this faith and hope that we have in Jesus. Let his light shine through this darkness. 

 

Fr. Pius Pareja, MMHC