21/03/2026
KAHIT TILA HULI NA ANG LAHAT, MAY MAGAGAWA PA RIN ANG DIYOS!🙏
5th Sunday of Lent (Year A)
John 11:1–45 - Jesus Raises Lazarus
Today’s Gospel presents something almost unsettling: “Jesus LOVED Martha and her sister and Lazarus. SO, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he remained for TWO MORE DAYS where he was.” (Jn 11:5–6)
Parang mali. Di ba? Notice the connection: He LOVED them… so He DELAYED. Kung mahal Niya sila, dapat pumunta agad. "Lord bakit ngayon ka lang dumating?"
But then, that is how we humans think—love responds immediately and removes suffering at once.
But the Gospel deliberately disrupts that expectation.
As the Lord says:
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Is 55:8–9).
So what is the key to understanding the Lord’s “delay” in today’s Gospel?
1. “The One You Love Is Sick” (Jn 11:3)
Just because you are LOVED by the Lord
does NOT mean you are EXEMPT from pain.
Trials are NOT SIGNS OF ABANDONMENT, but moments where God’s power and grace can break through beyond our expectations. By God's infinite wisdom, they are PERMITTED—and even ordered—toward OUR GREATER GOOD. (Cf. Rom 8:28)
Time and again, we ask:
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
That’s the wrong question.
The right question is:
What do good people do when bad things happen?
Good people continue to:
• trust
• obey
• remain faithful
They don’t break.
They don’t rebel.
They don’t turn away from God—because that’s what the devil wants.
Keep in mind: GOD IS GOOD. ALL THE TIME. 🙌
God is never delayed. HIS TIMING IS ALWAYS PERFECT. ⌚ Amen?
“With the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise...” (2 Pt 3:8-9)
Although Jesus knew His friend was in danger of death, He was not troubled, for He knew He had the power to bring him back to life. HE DID NOT INTEND MERELY TO HEAL LAZARUS, BUT TO RAISE HIM. In our own lives, we sometimes feel that God is ignoring our needs. Yet behind what seems like God’s silence, there is often a GREATER PLAN unfolding—one we cannot yet see.
2. How do we pray for the "impossible"?
🙏Jesus shows us HOW.
Before Lazarus is raised, He says, “Father, I THANK you for hearing me” (John 11:41–42). He did the same at the miracle of loaves. He took the loaves and GAVE THANKS even while the thousands were still starving (Matthew 14:19). Notice—GRATITUDE COMES BEFORE THE MIRACLE.
That is the posture of faith. NOT PLEADING IN PANIC, but confident thanksgiving. Kapag nagdadasal ka, HUMINAHON ka muna. Hindi yung nagpapanic. TO PRAY WITH FEAR IS TO FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM; to pray with gratitude is to FOCUS ON GOD'S UNCEASING LOVE AND MAJESTY, to trust that God is already at work.
This morning, you came into the church carrying many worries: fuel prices, your sick husband, your exams, and so forth. If you leave through those doors HOLDING ON TO THE SAME CONCERNS, perhaps you do not yet fully believe in God and His power.
3. “Even Now” – The Language of Faith (Jn 11:22)
Martha could have complained, “Lord, bakit ngayon ka lang dumating? Di ba close tayo? The least You could do is show up when we need You.”
But these were her words:
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But EVEN NOW I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (Jn 11:21–22)
Ito ang wika ng TUNAY NA PANANAMPALATAYA.
Even now—kahit tila wala nang pag-asa.
Martha could have said:
“Lord, don’t bother. It’s too late.”😓 Kung nagtampo siya, wala sana itong Gospel reading natin ngayon.
But she didn’t.
She believed.
And Jesus asks:
“Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:26)
As we pray for peace, during this time of great uncertainty, the Lord is again asking us: “DO YOU BELIEVE THINGS WILL GET BETTER?”
You know, the best part of every prayer is AMEN!
Because “Amen” means:
“Yes Lord. I trust You. So be it.”
It is an expression of total trust!!!
THE SOLUTION IS ON ITS WAY.
It’s only a matter of time.
⭐Just because nothing seems to be changing doesn’t mean God isn’t working—right now.
As the Don Moen song goes:
“GOD WILL MAKE A WAY WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY. HE WORKS IN WAYS WE CANNOT SEE.”🎹🎶🎼
So even now—when everything feels uncertain, fragile, even frightening—nothing is beyond redemption. What seems like an ending can still become a BEGINNING. What looks like loss can still be transformed.
⸻
4. When Hope Seems Dead
Sa totoo lang, may mga sandali sa buhay na masasabi natin:
“Lord… patay na ang pag-asa.”
Too late na.
Wala na.
During the current crisis in the Middle East and across the world, we find ourselves saying: It’s too late. Too late to stop the escalation. Fuel prices keep rising. Supply may soon run out. Once again, we are ruled by FEAR— that the economy might collapse, that World War 3 could break out.
And yet, the Gospel today speaks directly into that fear.❗
God reminds us: HE IS STILL IN CONTROL OF HISTORY. Not the leaders of 🇺🇸America, 🇮🇱Israel, 🇮🇷Iran, 🇷🇺Russia, or any nation. Diyos pa rin ang nakaupo sa trono. Amen?
While the world is in crisis…
while your family is struggling…
Dare to say to the Lord:
“Even now, I know… MAY MAGAGAWA KA PA, LORD.”
Hold on to this truth:
✅“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Epistle to the Romans 8:31)
✅“Is anything too hard for me?”
(Book of Jeremiah 32:27)
And remember this:
📌WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS… BUT WE KNOW WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE. Amen?
God is still in control. MAHAL NIYA TAYO. HINDI NIYA TAYO PABABAYAAN.
⸻
5. A Word for Our Lives
So today, say to the Lord:
“Even now…”
• Even now, You can heal my life
• Even now, You can restore my family
• Even now, You can guide my child
• Even now, You can turn things around
Because Jesus also said:
“Your brother will rise again.” (Jn 11:23)
So we dare to believe:
• My marriage will rise again
• My health will rise again
My business will rise again
• My future will rise again
• The Philippines will rise again
• The world will rise again
Amen? 🙌
(Sana huwag lang… fuel prices will rise again 😄)
⸻
6. Closing: At the Feet of Jesus (Jn 11:32)
Everything can still lead to something good—because God is still at work.
In the midst of sorrow and fear,
let us learn from Mary:
She fell at the feet of Jesus. (Jn 11:32)
Whenever we are overcome by:
• fear
• worries
• sorrow
Let us be AT THE FEET OF JESUS in prayer.
That is the SAFEST PLACE—
whether life is calm
or life is collapsing.
Even now… God is working.
Even now… there is hope.
Amen.
