Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent
(Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30)
Jesus tells the Pharisees that when they lift him up, they will realize who he is and that he has done what the Father wills. Jumping to that scene, however, we have difficulty finding any such awareness among the Jews. What is going on?
John the evangelist only subtly shows Jesus’ divine sonship on the cross. He notes that Pilate has a sign printed in three languages proclaiming Jesus “the king of the Jews.” This tells us that, like-it-or-not, the Jews have to face the fact that an objective authority acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed king of Israel. Also, Jesus’ last words, “It is finished,” indicate his identity. “The “It” here refers not only to his life but also to his mission from the Father of redeeming the world. Although the Pharisees “realize” this evidence in as much as they objectively see it, most will not be swayed. Indeed, only one of their numbers comes forward professing belief in Jesus. Nicodemus, whom we remember from an earlier encounter with Jesus, steps on the scene at this time with enough burial spices for a king.
We should not be any more dismayed by the Pharisees rejecting Jesus than by our own contemporaries. After all, Jesus conquered no empires like Alexander the Great. Nor did he write works of wisdom like Aristotle. Even his mighty deeds were not testified by any other than his followers. Why then do we accept Him as God? Certainly there is something to the fact that those followers died in making their testimony. But we believe also because he has acted in our lives. His words, which his disciples recorded, have given us a solid foundation. More than that, when we have called upon him, he has met our needs – not just once but repeatedly. We cannot help but hand over ourselves to him.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday of the Fifth Week in Lent
(Daniel 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; John 8:12-20)
Law-and-order advocates believe that stricter laws, tougher judges, and more prisons are the best ways to limit crime and bring harmony to society. They would praise the sagacity of Daniel in the first reading today who ferrets out two culprits willing to see an innocent woman stoned to cover up their crime of lust. Such hardliners are not likely to approve of Jesus’ more daring way to bring about justice.
In the Gospel of John Jesus repeatedly announces that he has not come to judge the world. Not that his judgment would be defective; it would just be insufficient. Judging would bring reprisals against everyone. But God loves the world and does not want to condemn it. He sends Jesus to save the world by offering himself at the appointed time. He will turn human hearts to what is good by graciously allowing himself to be crucified. Those who come to believe that his self-sacrifice demonstrates God’s love for the world will have eternal life. Those who deride such sacrifice are doomed to darkness.
We have entered into what used to be called Passiontide when all images were covered in Catholic churches. Our minds and hearts are to focus on Jesus supreme sacrifice. Once again, he gives himself willingly to be tortured, reviled, and killed so that we might be justified.
(Daniel 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; John 8:12-20)
Law-and-order advocates believe that stricter laws, tougher judges, and more prisons are the best ways to limit crime and bring harmony to society. They would praise the sagacity of Daniel in the first reading today who ferrets out two culprits willing to see an innocent woman stoned to cover up their crime of lust. Such hardliners are not likely to approve of Jesus’ more daring way to bring about justice.
In the Gospel of John Jesus repeatedly announces that he has not come to judge the world. Not that his judgment would be defective; it would just be insufficient. Judging would bring reprisals against everyone. But God loves the world and does not want to condemn it. He sends Jesus to save the world by offering himself at the appointed time. He will turn human hearts to what is good by graciously allowing himself to be crucified. Those who come to believe that his self-sacrifice demonstrates God’s love for the world will have eternal life. Those who deride such sacrifice are doomed to darkness.
We have entered into what used to be called Passiontide when all images were covered in Catholic churches. Our minds and hearts are to focus on Jesus supreme sacrifice. Once again, he gives himself willingly to be tortured, reviled, and killed so that we might be justified.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(II Samuel 7:405a.12-14a.16; Romans 3:13.16-18.22; Matthew 1:16.18-21.24a)
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees,” Jesus proclaims on the mountain, “you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Perhaps Jesus discerned this new righteousness by observing his foster-father St. Joseph.
In today’s gospel Matthew tells us that Joseph is a “righteous man.” The measure of his righteousness is seen by his not allowing Mary to be exposed to shame. There exist motives for him to do so. We can imagine Joseph’s sense of outrage upon learning that his betrothed is pregnant by another. Also, it is reasoned that he would be able to keep Mary’s dowry if he divorces her publicly. But Joseph, as Jesus recommends throughout his sermon on true righteousness, moves secretly so that only God sees his good deed.
As we know well, Joseph’s accepting responsibility for Mary and Jesus involves ever greater sacrifices. In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, Joseph must take his family to Egypt as refugees. Also, since Mary remains a virgin, Joseph foregoes sexual intimacy. Nowhere in the gospel does Joseph say a word, much less utter a complaint. He is the quiet hero who exemplifies the implicit righteousness that Jesus comes to bestow on all humans.
(II Samuel 7:405a.12-14a.16; Romans 3:13.16-18.22; Matthew 1:16.18-21.24a)
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees,” Jesus proclaims on the mountain, “you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Perhaps Jesus discerned this new righteousness by observing his foster-father St. Joseph.
In today’s gospel Matthew tells us that Joseph is a “righteous man.” The measure of his righteousness is seen by his not allowing Mary to be exposed to shame. There exist motives for him to do so. We can imagine Joseph’s sense of outrage upon learning that his betrothed is pregnant by another. Also, it is reasoned that he would be able to keep Mary’s dowry if he divorces her publicly. But Joseph, as Jesus recommends throughout his sermon on true righteousness, moves secretly so that only God sees his good deed.
As we know well, Joseph’s accepting responsibility for Mary and Jesus involves ever greater sacrifices. In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, Joseph must take his family to Egypt as refugees. Also, since Mary remains a virgin, Joseph foregoes sexual intimacy. Nowhere in the gospel does Joseph say a word, much less utter a complaint. He is the quiet hero who exemplifies the implicit righteousness that Jesus comes to bestow on all humans.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
(Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47)
“The world is too much with us,” the poet William Wordsworth lamented two hundred years ago. If anything, the presence of the mundane has increased in the interim. Because of its inherent goodness, the world has been first glorified and then idolized. Thus, we see many people hankering after the super-lottery and new pharmaceutical aphrodisiacs.
Of course, the condition is much more than two centuries old. It befalls the Israelites in the desert as the reading from Exodus today indicates. The golden calf stands at once for God and a pagan deity. Its luster is supposed to convey the awesomeness of God, but, defying God’s prohibition of craven images, the calf becomes a testament to the human inclination to divinize wayward desires.
As Moses pleads with God for mercy toward the Israelites, Jesus argues with the people to accept his testimony. His miracles have shown that he is from God. His words have transmitted divine wisdom. But the people, forever desirous of demonstrations of power, fail to recognize Jesus’ prophecy. Heeding his arguments, we need to do better. We not only have to accept Jesus as God’s emissary but have to recognize him as “true God from true God,” to be followed completely and unreservedly.
(Exodus 32:7-14; John 5:31-47)
“The world is too much with us,” the poet William Wordsworth lamented two hundred years ago. If anything, the presence of the mundane has increased in the interim. Because of its inherent goodness, the world has been first glorified and then idolized. Thus, we see many people hankering after the super-lottery and new pharmaceutical aphrodisiacs.
Of course, the condition is much more than two centuries old. It befalls the Israelites in the desert as the reading from Exodus today indicates. The golden calf stands at once for God and a pagan deity. Its luster is supposed to convey the awesomeness of God, but, defying God’s prohibition of craven images, the calf becomes a testament to the human inclination to divinize wayward desires.
As Moses pleads with God for mercy toward the Israelites, Jesus argues with the people to accept his testimony. His miracles have shown that he is from God. His words have transmitted divine wisdom. But the people, forever desirous of demonstrations of power, fail to recognize Jesus’ prophecy. Heeding his arguments, we need to do better. We not only have to accept Jesus as God’s emissary but have to recognize him as “true God from true God,” to be followed completely and unreservedly.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent
(Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30)
No song expresses the glory of the Irish more than “Danny Boy.” It speaks of their love, their fidelity, and their religion. Danny – who is he? a son, a friend, possibly a sweetheart – leaves his homeland but cannot forget it or his people. He will return and pay his respects to both. And if that return is delayed, then the visit to his people will take the form of a prayer, an “Ave,” for the dead.
Because Christ is at the center of that prayer, the “Hail, Mary,” it would not be said in vain. Indeed, for the Irish as for all Christians, life is Christ. He enables us to love truly now and to ultimately triumph over the forces that condemn the dead to oblivion. The gospel today expresses this two-fold victory by Jesus saying that the Son gives life to whomever he wishes and that those in tombs will hear his voice and come out.
(Isaiah 49:8-15; John 5:17-30)
No song expresses the glory of the Irish more than “Danny Boy.” It speaks of their love, their fidelity, and their religion. Danny – who is he? a son, a friend, possibly a sweetheart – leaves his homeland but cannot forget it or his people. He will return and pay his respects to both. And if that return is delayed, then the visit to his people will take the form of a prayer, an “Ave,” for the dead.
Because Christ is at the center of that prayer, the “Hail, Mary,” it would not be said in vain. Indeed, for the Irish as for all Christians, life is Christ. He enables us to love truly now and to ultimately triumph over the forces that condemn the dead to oblivion. The gospel today expresses this two-fold victory by Jesus saying that the Son gives life to whomever he wishes and that those in tombs will hear his voice and come out.
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