5^th Sunday of Lent, Year C

Isaiah 43:16-21       Philippians 3:8-14      John 8:1-11

Theme: Believe in providence

Today is the 5^th Sunday of lent. From the three readings of today, one idea which runs through all of them is that we must let the past be and commit our present and future into the hands of God. Like we all know, we all have a past, but today’s reading enjoins us to concentrate more on the present and the future. How do we do that? We do that by handing everything over to God, like Paul teaches us in today’s second reading. All of us have a past but we must strive to ensure that our past does not enslave us. For so many of us, we continue to dwell on our past such that it endangers our present and future. It is for us to stand on this firm promise, this firm assurance, given to us in the Word of God today that says that we should trust Him, because he is turning things around.

In the first reading of today, the Israelites are enjoined to trust in God because the God that has taken them out of Egypt is going to do a new thing in their lives. Something new is going to happen in their lives. The prophet gives them a message of hope, the same way I am speaking to you my brothers and sisters. I don’t want to know what your past has been like. It may have been a very turbulent one, it may have been very challenging, and it may have been very difficult. Today the Lord is saying to us that the present and the future are going to be better than the past. All we need to do today is to hand our present and future into the hands of God and resolve never to go back to those things that continue to set us back, those things that draw us back and make us slaves to our past experiences.

That is why when you look at the woman caught in adultery today, Jesus gives her another hope. Jesus gives her a new beginning. The people wanted her to be stoned. But Jesus wanted her to live. So also, our past may want to enslave us, but if we trust in Jesus, He will do for us what He did for this woman. And even in our own lives, there are so many battles God fights for us even without our knowledge that is why there is need for us to hand over our present and future into His hands. As long as we continue to strive, we need to make honest and sincere efforts and God will continue fighting our battles for us. Both those we know and those we do not know; and God will win us victory. As children of God and people of God we are victors! We are more than conquerors.

The question then would be, do we have enough faith that these things can come to reality in our lives. Do we also cooperate with the graces God continues to present to us? As children of God and people of God he is always by our side. No matter what the situation is, no matter what we are going through, He never allows us to make the journey on our own. He is always by our side to make our journey lighter. So many times, the problem is, we are so engrossed in the difficulty, in the pain that we have no time. We cannot see Him making the journey with us. My brothers and sisters, this season of lent is a season of grace. It presents us with the opportunity to get closer to God. It presents us with the opportunity to seek Holiness, to seek righteousness and seek that friendship that binds us together with God.

That is why my brothers and sisters as children of God and people of God, the readings of today are challenging you and I to make honest and sincere effort to ensure that our present and our future is in God’s hand. That way, we can be sure that we will have a future and present that is pleasing to God and that will lead us to life eternal at the end of our earthly journey here on earth. God continues to show us the depth of his love. He continues to draw to us wonderful opportunities that would draw us to himself like we see in the way He handled the matter of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus gave her a reason to live again. Jesus changed her story. Today my brothers and sisters, Jesus can also change our story. The question is, do we go to him in humility? Do we go to him with a repentant heart? Do we go to him, pleading and seeking his mercy? If we do this, we will experience the transformation, the change that the woman caught in adultery experienced today. We pray on this 5^th Sunday that God in his infinite good and love, will grant us the grace to get closer to him so that our future and present will be under his care through Christ our lord amen. Peace be with you!