The WORD today reminds me that nothing is impossible with God.
Years
back, Adidas used the tagline Impossible is
Nothing. It was a very inspirational and motivational campaign,
reminding people that anything is possible. Reminding us that records and human
limitations are meant to be broken. Reminding us that we can do great things.
And in the way this is true for worldly things, this is true in the spiritual
realm as well.
Nothing is impossible with God.
Matthew
19:26 says that all things are possible with God. In other words, nothing is
impossible with God. In the gospel, we see that this is true. Lazarus died. He
has been buried for four days. However, Jesus power is greater than death.
Time, space and logic cannot limit God's power. Even after 4 days, God brought
Lazarus back to life. Even after 4 days, there was no smell and he came out
alive from the tomb.
Nothing can limit God's power.
No
matter what we are going through right now, no matter how impossible the
situation may seem, no matter how helpless or hopeless we may feel, we
should remember this. Nothing is impossible with God. God's power is infinite.
We may not immediately believe like Martha and Mary when they said there would
be a smell after being dead for dour days, but God has faith in us also. He
gives us opportunities. He gives us reminders. He wants us to experience him,
his greatness and his power in our lives. Therefore we should have faith in
Him, his power, and his love for us.
Do
I believe that nothing is impossible for God? Do I live this? Do I call on God,
especially during impossible situations, or do I just feel helpless and
hopeless? What is God telling me today? With the covit19 crisis we are in, do I believe that nothing is still impossible with God? Do I trust in him and believe he is more powerful than this virus? Was I moved and inspired by Pope Francis?
May
we be inspired to have faith in God, no matter what the situation may be.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live.
Thank you for another Sunday. Thank you for another chance to love and serve
you. Thank you for the reminder. Lord, sorry for the times I lose faith. Sorry
for the times I let the situation bring me down. Sorry for thinking you cannot
do anything for me. Help me have faith. Increase my faith. May I always
remember your love and power. May it give me renewed energy and vigor as I live
for you. Lord, it’s the third Sunday of online mass. I miss you. And I still have faith in you. I know you will get us through this. Amen.
Blessed Sunday!
In Christ,
-g-
March
29, 2020
5th
Sunday of Lent; St. Jonas and St. Barachisius
FIRST
READING
Thus
says the LORD God:
O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
RESPONSORIAL
PSALM
R.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
SECOND
READING
Brothers
and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.
VERSE
BEFORE THE GOSPEL
I
am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will
never die.
GOSPEL
Now
a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet
with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word
to Jesus saying, “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.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days
in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go
back to Judea.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to
stone you, and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not
twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because
he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend
Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his
death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to
them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his
fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
or:
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
or:
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, “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.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
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