Is 65:17-21; Ps 30:2,4,5-6,11-12a; Jn 4:43-54
“Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free,” was the tagline of 1994 super-hit thriller drama, The Shawshank Redemption. Yes, the realisation of one’s sinful state, shortcomings, faults and failures can pull a person down easily, can cause panic, which eventually can enslave and imprison the person. On the contrary, if one can hope in the grace of god, the mercy of god, then this hope can set the person free. The season of lent is not a time to hit the panic button, rather is a time to rejuvenate our hope in the merciful love of God.
Prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, presents the promise of God – “the creation of new heavens and new earth, were there shall be everlasting joy and happiness.” These soothing words of the Lord come to a people in exile when they were in utmost suffering and turmoil of slavery. In fact, the people of Israel soon tasted this liberation to some extent in the person of King Nebuchadnezzar, but the ultimate liberation and creation of new heavens and earth is yet to come. Because it is the Lord who rescues his people from all iniquities and sufferings, says the psalmist.
Jesus, the Son of God, who came to reveal God the Father, his love, his promise and his salvific plan, gives a glimpse of the everlasting joy and happiness of the new heavens and new earth in today’s gospel. The royal official, who’s son was ill, personifies our earthly sojourn filled with challenges, difficulties and sufferings. He approaches Jesus as the final resort, which is evident from his words “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus wanted to test the faith of the royal official, so without accompanying him simply says “go, your son will live.” The man trusted, believed in Jesus and went home to find his son healthy. The joy and happiness of the father, son and the family would have exceeded all bounds. The Lord rescued when there was hope and faith.
As we are fast approaching Paschal, we too need hope and faith in the liberative action of Christ, only then this Easter can really be a resurrection for us, with St. Paul we too can say “I rejoice in the Lord always.”
The Rumbling in the Wind 