The Lord God Wipes Our Tears

December 3, 2025 – Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120325.cfm)

Two years ago, on a Sunday morning meant to mark the beginning of joyful waiting, our community was shaken by darkness. Lives were taken, bodies were wounded, and many hearts, including most of you here present today, still carry unseen scars. Advent, which should have been a season of hope, became for us a moment of fear and grief. And yet, here we are, gathered again, breathing the same air of faith, standing on the same ground of hope. This alone speaks of a God who continues to hold us together.

Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a powerful promise, “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.” Isaiah speaks of a God who prepares a great feast, who destroys death, who removes every stain of sorrow. Indeed, this is not a distant dream. This is God’s heart revealed to us now. The Lord God does not stand far from our suffering. The Lord God bends down, touches our wounds, and wipes our tears with His own hands.

Such character of God is revealed in today’s Gospel. Jesus climbs the mountain and there, people bring to Him the lame, the blind, the mute, the sick. And upon seeing all of them, “Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them.”

This is the Jesus who sees our trauma, our memories of that painful day, our fears that revisit us in the night. He does not avoid these wounds. He sits beside them, feels them with us, and slowly transforms them not by erasing that horrifying past, but by filling it with His presence.

Moreover, Jesus also does something even deeper. The Lord feeds the crowd. After days of hunger and exhaustion, Jesus refuses to send them away empty. This is the same Jesus who now tells us: “I will not let you remain empty of courage, of peace, and of meaning.” Where violence tried to take life away, Jesus continues to give life. Where hatred tried to silence us, Jesus continues to speak His peace. And where darkness tried to dominate, Jesus becomes our light.

Certainly, many of you have carried silent pain for two years now. Perhaps others still tremble at loud sounds or crowds. Others are still carrying inside their body those splinters that pierced them. Some might have also wondered if peace will ever be possible for us.

However, hear once more the promise in the Book of Prophet Isaiah, “On this mountain, God will destroy the veil that covers all peoples.” Even the veil of fear that covers our hearts. Even the cloud of trauma that shadows our memories. God is not finished with us.

Let us remember, Advent is the season when a small light begins to shine in the dark. That light is Jesus and no bomb, no violence, no hatred can put Him out. The same Lord who fed the hungry crowds, who healed the wounded, and who wept with the broken is here with us at this very moment. And our Lord Jesus wants your heart to live again.

Tonight, as we remember that painful tragedy, we also stand before the God who wipes tears and restores life. We honor our dead (+Janin, +Riza, +Evangelin and +Junrey) and not only by remembering their pain, but by choosing to live with greater hope, deeper love, and stronger unity as a Christian Community here in Marawi. What happened two years ago does not define us. God’s promise does.

And so, I leave you now two simple invitations as we commemorate this day.

First, choose healing every day. We know that healing takes time. It takes support. And it takes grace. Allow Jesus everyday to touch your wounds as He touched the wounded in today’s Gospel. Open your heart to conversations, to prayer, to our community and anything that helps your spirit breathe again.

Second, be bearers of peace where you stand. Do not let violence have the last word. In your home, at our University-Community here at MSU-Marawi, at your workplace, and with your friends, always choose peace. Choose respect and choose compassion. These small acts rebuild what hatred tried to destroy.

Remember this,God has not abandoned us. The LORD GOD is here, and He is wiping our tears. May this anniversary not only remind us of what we lost and what was deprived from us, but lead us to discover again the God who restores, heals, and gives the fullness of life. Hinaut pa.