A Message Of Hope

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

March 23, 2026

in Spritual Growth

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March 22, 2026:
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-3, 11-14
Romans 6:16-23
John 11:17-44

5th Sunday in Lent 2026 Homily – Abp. Hines

What a message of hope it is to us who will listen to what God has to say. This is through the prophecy given by God to Ezekiel, and it was setting a course, a foretelling of an event that was to take place. Ezekiel 37: 1-3 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Ezekiel 37:11-14 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore, prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

God had blessed the children of Israel. But they sinned and did not take the blessing of God in the right attitude. And so, they lost it. When God blesses us, we must not take it in pride or else we will lose its essence. God wants to bless us. We need to have an attitude of hope. “I am a child of God; I am holy in Him. I am an overcomer. I am a conqueror in Him; I am bound for new life. God was speaking through Ezekiel that He was promising life for us. He will fulfill what He has promised us.

Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the mountain where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Our Gospel talks about the story of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. There was a reason why Jesus delayed His going to Bethany upon hearing of Lazarus’ sickness. He was not late. He was coming with a message of hope. He told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” There were the mourners. We may mourn when one dies. God does not want us to be mourners, because He wants to give us life. He will raise our eyes up to the hills. We do not have any reason to be sad. He will bring us an abundance of joy. We have allowed sin to come when we should have hope instead. We shall be resurrected like the bones in the valley, and we will be held by God’s compassion and love.