OXYGEN

03 Mar

Lifters & Leaners

There are only two kinds of people on earth today
Two kinds of people, no more I say.
Not the rich and the poor, for to know a man’s wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health,
Not the happy and sad, for in life’s passing years,
Each has his laughter and each has his tears.
No, the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
In which class are you? Are you lifting the load
Of some overtaxed lifter who’s going down the road
Or are you a leaner who lets others share
Your portion of toil and labour and care?

- What thoughts, feelings, occurred to you while you went through the story?
- What do you think is the ‘moral’ of the story?

- taken from “Persons Are Gifts”, by Hedwig Lewis, SJ
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Isaiah 65:17-21

Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men’s minds. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness’. I shall rejoice over Jerusalem and exult in my people. No more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard in her; in her, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days. To die at the age of hundred will be dying young; not to live to be a hundred will be the sign of a curse. They will build houses and inherit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
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John 4:43-54

Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. He himself had declared that there is no respect for a prophet in his own country, but on his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended.

He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed water into wine. Now there was a court official there whose son was ill at Capernaum and, hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son as he was at the point of death. Jesus said, “So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!” “Sir,” answered the official, “come down before my child dies.” “Go home,” said Jesus, “your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that the boy was alive. He asked when the boy had begun to recover. “The fever left him yesterday,” they said, “at the seventh hour.” The father realized that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, “Your son will live”; and he and all his household believed.

This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.
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We sometimes hear of miraculous healings where a person’s belief in Christ saves him from a terminal illness. We hear of how such people, realizing how short their lives are, turn their lives completely and start devoting themselves completely towards living a more fulfilling life.

There was a time not too long ago when the average age that a person lived up to was 80 years. Now, one in two people in Singapore are expected to live beyond the age of 85. With newer medical advancements, the time will come when Isaiah’s prophecy will come true. But imagine what living beyond 85 will be if we are plagued with all sorts of illnesses, be they physical, psychological, or spiritual? How can we truly live a life that is worth living?

In order to live a life that is worth living and one that is not plagued with unnecessary illness, we need to turn our life around now – not tomorrow, not next month, not next year, but now. We need to change our lifestyles today – what we eat, how we live, who we love, etc. That’s what repentance is all about; that’s what the season of Lent is about. If we can, during each season of Lent, change just one bad habit into a good habit, just think how much a better, and healthier, person we will be at the age of 85!

(Today’s reflection by Daniel Tay)
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Prayer: Dear Lord, we pray that our belief in you might allow us to developing into the best person that we can be, so that we might live a life that is full and rich. Amen.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for a life worth living.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 04 Mar – Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; John 5:1-16; Memorial for St. Casimir
Wed, 05 Mar – Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30
Thu, 06 Mar – Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47
Fri, 07 Mar – Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22; John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30; Memorial for Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs
Sat, 08 Mar – Jeremiah 1:18-20; John 7:40-53
Sun, 09 Mar – Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45; Fifth Sunday of Lent
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