Theme: Light, Truth and Reconciliation in a Continent of Shadows
Core Gospel: John 9:1–12, 35–41
Total Length: 75 minutes (1 hour 15 mins)
Welcome & Gathering
(5 minutes)
Atmosphere: gentle music, globe or map visible, candle unlit.
Opening Prayer
Christ, our Light,
be with us as we listen,
share, and pray.
Help us to see
as you see.
Amen.
Setting the Scene:
Voices from Asia
(5-10 minutes)
Across the Americas — from the mountains of Peru to the prairies of Canada, from the barrios of El Salvador to the streets of Ferguson — the story of penance, peace, and reconciliation is woven from many threads. It is a story of colonisation and resistance, of slavery and liberation, of wounds still open, and of the slow courage to heal.
Liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutiérrez and Jon Sobrino call the Church to conversion: penance as solidarity, repentance as turning from comfort toward the suffering of others. In their vision, Christ is encountered among the crucified peoples of history — not in triumph, but where dignity is denied.
Feminist, mujerista, and womanist voices — including Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Nancy Pineda-Madrid, and M. Shawn Copeland — insist that reconciliation must include gendered and racial suffering. Peace cannot exist where bodies are excluded or devalued; true communion is embodied justice. Serene Jones adds that healing requires naming trauma and allowing grace to work within broken memory.
Prophetic voices such as Walter Brueggemann emphasise truth-telling, lament, and memory as the first movements of hope. Without honest remembering, peace becomes false harmony.
Ecological theologians such as Leonardo Boff and Rubem Alves widen reconciliation to include creation itself. Penance becomes ecological conversion — restoring right relationship with soil, water, sky, and all living beings. Peace is not merely the absence of violence; it is the flourishing of the whole web of life.
Introduction
In this session we are travelling, in imagination, through some of the landscapes of Asia – India, Korea, Japan, Palestine, Indonesia – and hearing how light, truth and reconciliation are lived there. We’ll listen to John’s Gospel alongside voices from the land.
Icebreaker:
10 minutes
If you could visit one place in Asia, where might it be, and why?
Where have you noticed even a small flicker of light in a difficult moment this week?
Gospel Listening: John 9:1–12 and 35–41
(10–25 minutes)
First Reading
Read John 9:1–12 and 35–41 slowly.
Pause in silence (30–45 seconds).
Invite people to notice:
- A word, gesture, or silence that stays with them.
Second Reading
A different voice reads the same passage.
Brief sharing (keep light and short):
- What stayed with you?
- Where do you find yourself in the story?
Gospel Reflection
(25–32 minutes)
The Samaritan woman’s story begins in isolation and ends in communion. She arrives alone, exposed, carrying exclusion. Yet she leaves as a messenger of life. What happens between her and Jesus is not moral correction but revelation: grace breaking through boundaries, dignity restored where shame once reigned.
This is penance as conversion toward truth — not self-punishment, but the courage to be seen, to speak honestly, and to discover oneself still beloved. Her words — “He told me everything I have ever done” — are not shame, but wonder. Confession becomes liberation when it is held in grace.
Peace here is not polite avoidance; it is reconciliation through honesty. The well becomes sacred ground: a place where ancient division dissolves in shared humanity. Reconciliation becomes the creation of new community — the excluded becoming the bridge by which others meet Christ.
Wondering:
- I wonder what “living water” looks like when it restores dignity, not just belief.
Voices from Asia
(32–45 minutes)
You may read fuller extracts from the Lent landscape book if available.
India – Truth and Shared Belonging
“In the Indian context, truth is not a weapon to win arguments, but a bridge for understanding. It is relational. It is revealed in dialogue, in hospitality, and in shared ethical struggle. Reconciliation grows when communities learn to tell their stories honestly – acknowledging both wounds and wisdom – and when each tradition recognises the partial, pilgrim nature of its own truth.
So the Indian context can be described as one of many faith identities negotiating shared life. This is not relativism but realism: the conviction that God’s truth exceeds the grasp of any single faith. Reconciliation begins when we dare to meet one another in humility – when truth ceases to be a possession and becomes a shared pursuit of the good.”
Korea – Han and the Wounded Heart
“Korea’s story carries the ache of division, rapid transformation, and the unhealed pain of its people. The scars of colonisation, war, and the separation between North and South run deep, shaping generations with a collective han – that slow, sorrowful wound of unresolved suffering.
The light of Christ in this context is not triumphal brightness but the radiance of compassion. God’s light does not stand apart from human agony; it enters it. It penetrates the shadows of han – the deep resentment, sorrow, and humiliation of the oppressed – and begins to transform them from within. True reconciliation must bring healing both to those who have caused harm and to those who have been harmed. At the cross, God bears both: the guilt of the oppressor and the grief of the oppressed.”
Palestine – The Cross and the Olive Tree
Daoud Nassar, a Palestinian Christian farmer, writes:
“Most Palestinians have reacted to the present situation in one of three ways – the way of violence; the way of resignation; or the way of flight. My family and I have chosen a fourth way: to stay put and resist the occupation through active, non-violent resistance. We have chosen a path where we seek to refuse to be anybody’s enemy.”
Reflection:
“The Cross becomes a sign of truth-telling. It names injustice without illusion and reveals Christ present with those whose homes are threatened, whose fields are seized, and whose olive trees are cut down. Yet the Olive Tree symbolises the resilience and rootedness of a people who refuse to disappear. For families like the Nassars, tending the land is prayer, identity, and a declaration of continued existence. The Cross exposes suffering; the Olive Tree reveals hope. Together they offer a way of seeing God at work in those who stay, resist non-violently, and continue to believe that justice and peace are possible even on contested soil.”
Wondering:
- I wonder which voice I found hardest — or most necessary — to hear.
Conversations
(15 minutes)
Form pairs or groups of three.
Seeing and Not-Seeing
- Where do you notice blindness in John 9 — in people, systems, or assumptions?
- Where do we see this echoed in the Asian stories?
Truth and Hidden Pain
- Where might deep, unspoken hurt live in our own communities or churches?
- What truths do we struggle to name honestly?
Reconciliation in Practice
- What might “putting our stones down” look like for us?
- What does faithful “staying” look like rather than fighting, fleeing, or giving up?
Return to the whole group.
Invite one short phrase or insight from each group.
Contemplative Action & Prayer
Give each person a small stone.
Leader says:
Hold this stone. Let it represent a judgement, resentment, or self-condemnation you carry.
You do not need to name it aloud.
Closing Prayer
God of justice and mercy,
Light of the world,
heal our wounded seeing and our wounded lands.
Teach us to walk in truth,
to listen deeply,
and to choose reconciliation.
Amen.
Action for the Days Ahead
- Truth-Listening: Listen this week to a voice you would not usually hear.
- Solidarity Choice: Take one small action aligned with dignity, justice, or care.
