Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)

The Scripture readings may remind us of the story of the wise man and the robber.  Once a wise man was traveling through a forest when he was stopped by a robber demanding the most valuable thing the wise man was carrying.  Without hesitating a second, the wise man opened his bag and pulled out a diamond as big as a grapefruit.  The robber took the diamond and went his way.  Later that same day, the robber returned.  He said that the wise man must have in his possession something more valuable than the big diamond.  Otherwise he could not have possibly given the diamond away so easily.  That something was what the highwayman now wanted from the wise man. 

Of course, the wise man had wisdom to know that the most important things in life are not riches.  They are spiritual realities like faith in God, a good character, and the moral virtues.  In today’s first reading Moses reminds the Israelites how valuable is the Law that God has given them.  He tells them that if they keep the Law, other nations will come to admire them.  In the gospel Jesus states that he has come not to take away Moses’ Law but to fulfill it.  He will perfect the law by emphasizing the need to love one’s neighbor from the heart.  Personal righteousness is always more than providing resources to the needy; it is caring for them from the heart.  This heart-felt care is like the “something more valuable” that the wise man possessed. 

We have to find effective ways of showing our care for the needy.  Monthly contributions to organizations that feed the homeless or provide social services for the poor may be the best we can do.  But it is better to dedicate some time ourselves to helping others in great need.  In this way we will form relationships with the poor so that we can love them from the heart.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)

Last week the governor of Texas commuted the sentence of a man who killed his mother and brother.  The man was supposed to be executed, but with a recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Parole and also the petition of the killer’s father, the sentence was changed to life in prison.  Anti-death penalty supporters considered the change of sentence as a victory for their movement.  Perhaps death penalty proponents saw it as a step backward.  It would be better to review the decision through the lens of today’s gospel than as an ideological war.

Jesus is urging his followers to forgive those who repent of their crimes not superficially but “from the heart.”  He wants them to rejoice in the conversion of a sin as well as to love their enemies.  However, he does not show tolerance for the person who receives forgiveness but does not show it to others.  Such people, he might say, have to learn the hard way if they are to learn at all.

We have to take our lives seriously.  They are not games which we play over and over winning sometimes and losing other times until we die.  Rather our lives are more like a long educational process in which we will hopefully become loving people like our teacher and Lord Jesus. If the man whose sentence was commuted has not learned to forgive offenses against him, a long life in which he dies in bed will be no better than a short life in which he dies at the hand of an executioner.  He will never reach the goal in life which is, again, to love like Jesus.

Monday, March 5, 2018

Monday of the Third Week in Lent

(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)

The first two and a half weeks of Lent deal with penance to make up for our sins.  We emphasized the need for prayer, fasting, and works of charity to overcome our egotistical desires.  The third week of Lent opens another perspective.  Now we have to ask ourselves if we are giving proper testimony to Jesus.  Today’s readings confirm Jesus as a prophet.  Do we see him in that way?

Naaman almost missed his opportunity for being cured of leprosy.  He wanted to dismiss the advice of the prophet Elisha who told him to just wash in the Jordan River.  Fortunately, his servants were able to convince him that he had little to lose by complying with the prophet’s order.  In the gospel passage the people of Nazareth do not have such good advice available.  They reject Jesus’ claim of being appointed by God to bring comfort to the oppressed.  Indeed, they are about to kill him for claiming to be a prophet.

Placing faith in Jesus is a risky venture.  We may not lose our lives or our fortunes, just the consideration of being “one of the guys.”  Accepting Jesus as a prophet means to stand with him by visiting the sick or greeting a child with a severe deformity.  It may also mean objecting to a slander that someone makes or questioning the standing opinion that is based on hearsay.  Former Vice-President Joe Biden speaks favorably of rival Jesse Helms when both men were in the Senate.  He says that they were able to accomplish much for their country because they refused to denigrate each other as some of their political allies would have had them do. 

Friday, March 2, 2018

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

(Genesis 37:3-4.12-13a.17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43.45-46)

One of the many social problems of abortion-on-demand is that it facilitates bias against people with genetic abnormalities.  Most babies with Downs Syndrome are now being aborted in the so-called “developed nations.”  A similar rejection is seen in today’s first reading where Joseph’s brothers conspire to kill him for being his father’s favorite son.

But not all the brothers are so contemptuous.  Rueben, the eldest of the lot, suggests that they hold Joseph prisoner while he figures out how to send him home safely.  Another brother, Judah, seems to have a similar sentiment, but his suggestion to sell Joseph to Ishmaelite traders may just be a way to turn a profit.  In sum, the motive of all the brothers, save Rueben, is treachery.  They exemplify the dark side of humanity in crying need of renewal.

We are coming to the middle of Lent.  Hopefully, we have noticed by now that our motives are sometimes not just mixed but can be perverse.  Perhaps we have been envious of friends and family members receiving credit.  Perhaps we have advised someone to have an abortion because the baby would not be normal as most people think of the term.  Now is the time to repent of this wrongfulness and to beg God’s grace.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Thursday of the Second Week in Lent

(Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:19-31)

“The line between good and evil,” the Russian novelist and humanitarian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn remarked, “is not drawn between nations or parties, but through every human heart.”  We can understand this truth as saying that every one of us has a heart partly corrupted so that it awaits renewal.  Executing that renewal is our Lenten project.  Similarly, every one has in part a heart palpitating with generosity.  Experiencing the growth of that vibrant sector is a source of Easter rejoicing.  In the first reading the prophet Jeremiah laments a heart so rotten that it is beyond remedy.  In the gospel Jesus gives us an example – the rich man who ignores the beggar at his door.

Certainly the rich man is not punished just for having wealth.  That would be like criticizing a healthy person for not taking sick leave.  But wealth as well as health has attendant obligations which Pope Paul VI once called a “social mortgage.”  The rich must share some of their resources so that the needy not lose their human dignity.  Jesus in this Gospel of Luke never tires reminding his disciples of this responsibility.

Donating to the poor carries some risks.  A beggar may squander our beneficence on liquor, and even some highly regarded charities have misused contributions.  But we must not allow these concerns to trump God’s call to generosity.  Prudence indicates who deserves our offerings and how much is appropriate for us to give.  Failure to comply with the dictates of prudence may nudge our heart more to the side of corruption.