March Reflecting on our relationship with God

LENT 2

5 MARCH 2023

Genesis 12L 1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4: 1-5, 13- 17. John 3: 1-7

Throughout history, people have gone the extra mile to seek higher teaching, ultimate truth or enlightenment.

Nicodemus came to Jesus, a young wandering preacher who also performed miracles. Nicodemus considers Jesus no more than a distinguished rabbi who has done miracles like many rabbis attributed in Jewish writings.

During this Lenten season, we meet Jesus, not as a distinguished rabbi who performs miracles but as the one lifted on a cross so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

LENT 3

12 MARCH 2023

Exodus 17: 1-7, Ps 95, Rom 5: 1-11, John 4: 5- 42

“Give me a drink”, Jesus, a Jewish man, asks the Samaritan woman who came to fetch water from Jacob’s well at midday.

The antipathies between Jews and Samaritans at the time of Jesus were irreconcilable. Furthermore, there was strong prejudice towards women like the Samaritan woman in her community.

But the openness of the Samaritan woman received Jesus, who revealed himself as the gift of God who could give living water and hear the revolutionary understanding of worshipping God in spirit and truth.

The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well invites us to respond to a more profound truth, the divine communion with God, even if it takes a courageous step of breaking the customs of our time.

LENT 4

19 MARCH 2023

1 Samuel 16: 1- 13, Ps 23, Ep 5: 8- 14, John 9: 1-41

One in five Australians has some form of disability, and an estimated 1.3 billion people or one in six people worldwide, experience significant disability. People with disabilities experience discrimination more frequently than others.

The story of the man born blind from the gospel of John allows us to talk about the issue of disabilities, which is often absent in faith conversations.

Jesus saw that God was present and that God’s grace was with everyone in every situation. So he said, “So that God’s works might be revealed in him”( Vs 3). During this Lent, as we reflect on our relationship with God, let the experience and insights of people with disability expand our awareness of God’s grace.

LENT 5

26 MARCH 2023

Ezekiel 37: 1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8: 6- 11. John 11: 1-45

The story of Lazarus is one of the most famous stories in the Bible, a dead man walking out of the tomb! John’s gospel has many wordplays, which are the metaphorical means to highlight the spiritual realm. Jesus is inviting us, like Martha and Mary, to break free from the bonds of spiritual death and live in the light and eternal life.

These Lectionary Reflections have been preprared by Rev. Myung Hwa Park and have been edited for length. Find the full versions at www.insights.uca.org.au

 CONTINUED ON PAGE 42