Thursday, March 23, 2023

 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

(Exodus 32:7-15; John 5:31-47)

In the Passion of John’s gospel there is no Jewish trial of Jesus.  Here the fourth gospel seems to differ from the first three.  Yet a close reading of the gospel notes that Jesus is continually being tried by the Jews.  In the segment of the trial related in today’s gospel the point of issue is whether Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus marshals evidence showing that indeed he is.

Jesus calls as his first witness John the Baptist.  John testified at the beginning of the gospel that he saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus.  As a second proof that he is who he says, Jesus points out that he has performed prodigious deeds like curing the paralytic at the Temple pool.  Then Jesus provides additional proof by noting how God has prepared for him in the Scriptures.  Today’s first reading hints at what he means.  As God decides not to punish His people for their idolatry so Jesus has not come to judge the world but to save it.  Finally, Moses is brought forward as a witness.  In a famous passage of Deuteronomy Moses speaks of a prophet in Israel in whose mouth God will put His word (Deuteronomy 18:18).

All the evidence that Jesus presents is circumstantial.  That is, it only indicates that Jesus is the Son of God.  We can deny it as inconclusive.  However, such a denial not only defies the process of inductive reasoning.  It also rejects the prospect of our eternal life in him.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

 (Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30)

 A doctor had taken a special course in listening to heartbeats.  He became able to detect not only the thump of a heart functioning badly but also the whiz of its slightest tremor.  This ability enabled the doctor to warn young patients of heart problems that will likely incur thirty years into the future.  In today’s gospel Jesus speaks of a hearing sensitivity in his followers every bit as sharp as this doctor’s.

He says that those who hear his word his voice will come out of their graves to pass into eternal life.  What does his voice sound like?  It is the whimper of those in need.  It is the plea of the sick for companionship and the petition of the refugee for safe harbor.  Because Jesus’ followers can discern such sounds, they will be able to perceive his call after death.

We have entered into a new phase of Lent.  The readings are no longer about penance but about promise.  Drawn especially from the Gospel of John, they describe the eternal life which is the destiny of those who follow Christ.  It is the reward of those who have learned how to discern his voice.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Tuesday of the fourth Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 47:1-9.12; John 5:1-16)

Pilgrims to Lourdes should not hesitate to have a bath in the holy waters.  Winter or summer, the baths are administered with care and devotion which uplift one’s faith.  The waters are charged with the aspirations of millions seeking health of soul and body.  They carry the same freshness as the waters of the Temple featured in today’s readings.

The first reading calls attention to the water trickling at first but soon becoming a torrent.  The water soon gives life to abundant flora that in turn revives believers.  In the gospel Jesus himself becomes the life-giving water of the Temple.  He heals the sick man who did not have the wherewithal to enter the Temple pool.

Water symbolizes our coming to new life at Easter.  At the vigil service the water is blessed with due reference to its saving roll throughout the Old Testament.  During the Easter season it is continually used to remind us of the blessings that Jesus’ resurrection bestows.  We can look forward to being touched with that water so that Jesus’ life may flow within us.

Monday, March 20, 2023

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(2 Samuel 7:4-5a.12-14a.16; Romans 4:13.16-18.22; Matthew 1:16.18-21.24a)

The status of men has decreased in the last generation.  Two or three generations ago, popular television shows like “Father Knows Best” and “All My Sons” portrayed men as loving, wise, and faithful.  Today men are often considered chauvinistic and irresponsible.  For this reason church men and women have looked to St. Joseph as a model and an intercessor.

As a model, Joseph displays righteousness and tenderness in his relations to Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Rather than expose her to shame when made aware of her pregnancy, he decides to divorce her quietly.  Then, made aware of the circumstances, he generously provides her and her child with a home.  As an intercessor, Joseph has been seen as a person of preeminent sanctity, someone to be counted on for assistance.

As an anomaly during Lent, today’s feast of St. Joseph is celebrated as if it were a Sunday.  The Church bids us to pray to, toast, and relax with this wonderful man.  On the Sabbath, Joseph rejoiced in the Lord.  May we do the same today!

Sunday, March 19, 2023

 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(Samuel 16:1-6.10-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41)

If you go to Florence, you'll want to see Michelangelo's statue of David. It is perhaps the most celebrated work of art in this city of fine art. Looking at its magnificence, you ask why students of the Bible, including Michelangelo, have considered David such a great figure. Did he not commit adultery and then arrange the death of his lover's husband? That’s right; David was a great sinner. But he was also a brave warrior who conquered many lands for Israel. This is not the only or the greatest reason to engrave his figure in marble. David was also a person of great faith. From youth David's heart belonged to God. He never abandoned the worship of God to flirt with other gods. Rather, on several occasions he demonstrated the depth of his faith. The gospel today traces the faith journey of another biblical character, the man born blind.

First, we should ask: what is faith? Is it simply the belief in a spiritual realm beyond what our eyes can see? This is not sufficient because faith demands allegiance to one of the various spirits found in Scripture. Is faith then the effort to do everything you can for other people? This sounds more like love springing from true faith. Faith, at least for us Christians, is trust in God as our creator and savior. Furthermore, faith sees Jesus Christ as the "light of the world"; that is, the means through which God's love is revealed.

The man born blind is not born with faith; he gradually acquires it. His first step to faith is to acknowledge Jesus as his benefactor. He was steeped in the darkness of blindness when Jesus covered his eyes with mud and sent him to the pool to wash. He now testifies to the Pharisees that Jesus was responsible for his sight. He's like other people who move toward belief in God after coming in touch with a saint.

The faith of the man takes a step forward when he recognizes Jesus as a prophet. Reflecting on receiving his sight, the man intuits that Jesus was called by God. Many people in the world today see Jesus as a prophet. They respect him like another Lincoln, Gandhi, or Martin Luther King. However, they do not feel a need to submit themselves to a prophet with mind and heart as is necessary to God.  Of course, to the Pharisees Jesus is not a prophet.  They call him "a sinner." For this reason, they cast out from the synagogue the man who has come to see with more clarity than ever.

Now the man born blind comes to full sight. When Jesus identifies himself as the Son of man, that is, the one to whom God has given dominion over the world, the man worships him. Faith in Jesus recognizes him as the one deserving of complete trust because he saved the world from sin and death. The gospel adroitly shows this coming to faith by juxtaposing it with the loss of faith by the Pharisees. The man born in physical darkness now spiritually sees twenty-twenty by putting faith in Jesus. Meanwhile the Pharisees, who had physical sight at birth, now walk in spiritual darkness because they do not believe in Jesus.

When we speak of faith in Jesus as the light of the world, we should have in mind a strong and intense illumination. Like the laser, Jesus cures us of our moral failings. Like a beacon, he guides us around the rocks and vortices of life to salvation. Like the sun, he provides us with life; that is, eternal life.