Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

A cartoon a couple of years ago showed two drivers after a fender-bender.  One says to the other, “My lawyer will contact you tomorrow.”  This is the way many people think today.  When offended, they first and foremost seek redress.  Today’s readings teach us that getting back at others is not God’s way.

The passage from Isaiah’s is taken from the end of the second of three sections of the book.  The prophet is consoling the exiled captives in Babylon.  He has told them that they have suffered enough for their infidelity.  He has also assured them that God does not hold grudges.  Indeed, Isaiah makes clear that God takes delight in forgiving.  Jesus similarly teaches of his Father’s willingness to forgive.  However, he insists that God will forgive only those who are willing to forgive others.  He is saying that humans have to adopt God’s ways if they are going to receive God’s mercy.

It’s tragic how wars are continually refought because peoples do not want to forgive.  Many Arabs live with resentment for Jews, and many Jews live so with Arabs.  The same is true of Indians and Pakistanis.  In the United States African-Americans are demanding reparations while white-Americans hold on to the prejudices of their ancestors.  These are not God’s ways.  If people want to be truly free, they must let go of these kinds of demands. Then they need to forgive others’ their offenses to receive God’s forgiveness for their own.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tuesday of the First Week in Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

The great American film director and actor Clint Eastwood epitomizes an economy of words. He made his name in movies as the laconic stranger of “spaghetti westerns” (i.e., cowboy movies shot in Europe). When Eastwood directs a film, he famously cuts much of the wording from its original script and finishes it with only a month of shooting. Could Eastwood not be pleased with Jesus’ advice about prayer today?

The “Lord’s Prayer” prioritizes God’s goodness as it rapidly courses through seven petitions. “…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,” it says upfront, trusting that the fulfillment of these requests will bring blessings. The remaining four petitions are a bit longer and more specific, but in no way do they detail what the heart desires. They merely relieve the anxiety of living as doves in a sinful world.

Jesus means to emphasize that as our Father, God knows our needs better than we. There is no need on the Father’s part to remind Him of the many people who are hurting. Yet the practice of naming those for whom we pray likely helps us to focus our love. Still, lest we become lost in our concerns, we do well to just meditate on any one of the seven petitions thinking of how God might fulfill it.

Homilette for Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Tuesday of the First Week in Lent

(Isaiah 55: 10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

It is said that while Charles Lindberg was making the first solo flight across the Atlantic, he began to doubt the accuracy of his instruments. Worrying that his compass was incorrectly calibrated, he was tempted to change his course. But he kept faith in the compass and successfully landed in Paris.

As a navigator trusts his compass, we put our faith in the word of God. Isaiah in the first reading tells us God’s word always accomplishes its purpose. Because Jesus utters it, the “Our Father” of the gospel today is certainly the word of God. We can utterly rely on its efficacy. The bread we long for on will be provided. The forgiveness we require will be granted. We must remember, however, to say the prayer -- not occasionally and half-heartedly but frequently and resolutely.