Monday of the Fourth Week in Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
We have crossed a threshold in Lent. As if we have dominated our sinful tendencies completely, the readings today take us beyond repentance to new life in the Lord. They are to prepare us for the celebrations of Christ’s glory in less than three weeks.
Does the royal official believe that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah or is he just desperately seeking a remedy for his son’s disease? Jesus indicates that he is only looking for some help such that his next stop may be a drugstore. But that fact does not deter Jesus from meeting the need. He challenges the man to believe by sending him off with his word that the boy will live. The man’s desperation turns into trust as he leaves without further entreaty.
We come to Jesus with a barrow of needs every day. If we are honest, we may have to admit that we are usually looking for a shortcut to resolve our problems. Jesus challenges us also to believe. Letting go of our urgency and trusting in his care, we too will find a newness of life.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)
Preachers have long noted that the first tablet of the Ten Commandments deals with love of God, Jesus’ first commandment, and the second with love of neighbor, Jesus’ second commandment. Some interpreters have tried to equate the two or even substitute one for the other. These efforts inevitably result in folly.
Attempting to love one’s neighbor without first loving God is like trying to balance a plate without a center on a stick. Humans disappoint one another causing one to compromise her commitments. The universal failure of Communism provides ample proof of this. Moved by the love of God, however, one can maintain her love for others despite indifference and even deception.
The First Letter of John bluntly proclaims the absurdity of trying to love God without loving one’s neighbor. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (I John 4:20). God, the Father of all, requires us to love His image in all His children.
The scribe in the gospel story wins Jesus’ approval because he correctly reinterprets the Ten Commandments. But Jesus makes a reservation. He says only that the scribe is “not far from the Kingdom of God.” In order to place himself squarely within that realm, the scribe must put his insight into practice.
(Hosea 14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)
Preachers have long noted that the first tablet of the Ten Commandments deals with love of God, Jesus’ first commandment, and the second with love of neighbor, Jesus’ second commandment. Some interpreters have tried to equate the two or even substitute one for the other. These efforts inevitably result in folly.
Attempting to love one’s neighbor without first loving God is like trying to balance a plate without a center on a stick. Humans disappoint one another causing one to compromise her commitments. The universal failure of Communism provides ample proof of this. Moved by the love of God, however, one can maintain her love for others despite indifference and even deception.
The First Letter of John bluntly proclaims the absurdity of trying to love God without loving one’s neighbor. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (I John 4:20). God, the Father of all, requires us to love His image in all His children.
The scribe in the gospel story wins Jesus’ approval because he correctly reinterprets the Ten Commandments. But Jesus makes a reservation. He says only that the scribe is “not far from the Kingdom of God.” In order to place himself squarely within that realm, the scribe must put his insight into practice.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday of the Third Week in Lent
(Jeremiah7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)
A seminarian in Washington, D.C., during the time of Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979 was having difficulty deciding whether to go the Mass on the Capitol Mall. He reasoned that it was not likely he would come close to the popular visitor and that he could better use the time for study. Then he heard a sermon urging everyone to attend. The preacher said that the visit was unique – the first time a pope visited the U.S. Capitol. The seminarian took the advice and attended the mass along with hundreds of thousands of others. He was never less than hundreds of yards away from the pontiff, but, nevertheless, was for a long time grateful he made the effort to see him in person. In the gospel the people surrounding Jesus have a similar kind of decision to make.
When Jesus tells the people that the Kingdom of God is at hand with his coming, many resist trusting his word. Like the seminarian they give half-hearted excuses for their reservations. They say that Jesus is in league with the devil, or that he needs to prove himself by still another miracle. Jesus commands their trust by pointing out that he has already shown himself to be Satan’s adversary and the doer of mighty deeds.
Some of us as well may harbor reservations about giving ourselves fully over to Jesus. We may say that if the Savior really has come, the world would be better. Perhaps it is the presence of so much poverty, violence, and disease that upsets us. Yet we should realize that the world by definition is compromised by evil. Jesus took measures against the maladies that trouble us and others also. By aligning ourselves with him, we will be better overcome the evil that troubles us. As importantly, by belonging to Jesus, the evil of our own hearts will be exposed and extricated.
(Jeremiah7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)
A seminarian in Washington, D.C., during the time of Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979 was having difficulty deciding whether to go the Mass on the Capitol Mall. He reasoned that it was not likely he would come close to the popular visitor and that he could better use the time for study. Then he heard a sermon urging everyone to attend. The preacher said that the visit was unique – the first time a pope visited the U.S. Capitol. The seminarian took the advice and attended the mass along with hundreds of thousands of others. He was never less than hundreds of yards away from the pontiff, but, nevertheless, was for a long time grateful he made the effort to see him in person. In the gospel the people surrounding Jesus have a similar kind of decision to make.
When Jesus tells the people that the Kingdom of God is at hand with his coming, many resist trusting his word. Like the seminarian they give half-hearted excuses for their reservations. They say that Jesus is in league with the devil, or that he needs to prove himself by still another miracle. Jesus commands their trust by pointing out that he has already shown himself to be Satan’s adversary and the doer of mighty deeds.
Some of us as well may harbor reservations about giving ourselves fully over to Jesus. We may say that if the Savior really has come, the world would be better. Perhaps it is the presence of so much poverty, violence, and disease that upsets us. Yet we should realize that the world by definition is compromised by evil. Jesus took measures against the maladies that trouble us and others also. By aligning ourselves with him, we will be better overcome the evil that troubles us. As importantly, by belonging to Jesus, the evil of our own hearts will be exposed and extricated.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent
(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
Historians say that when Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, he was quite conscious that he was rewriting the United States Constitution. That document, composed seventy-four years before, had considered the value of Black slaves as three-fifths that of free people. Lincoln reached back to the Declaration of Independence declaring all men (and, implicitly, women) equal. He had every intention of turning this proposition into law but died although he died before realizing it. But even the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments could not make Blacks equal in American society. Still we should see Lincoln’s efforts as a way of bringing the American promise to perfection something akin to what Jesus does to the Mosaic law.
The reading from Deuteronomy today expresses the virtue of the Law God gives to Moses. “Observe (its statutes and decrees) carefully,” Moses says, “for thus you will give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations…” However, the Law lacked an inner dynamism that would provide the people reason and strength to live perfectly. That force is the Holy Spirit which lurks in Jesus’ words on the Mount and is released definitively in his death and resurrection. Knowing the power of his Spirit, Jesus can say, “I have not come to abolish (the Law) but to fulfill (it).”
The Spirit fills our being with the love of God, that is, His love for us. We become partakers of God’s very life which enables us to love everyone, even our enemies. In the process we are made God’s heirs destined to share His happiness for eternity.
(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
Historians say that when Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, he was quite conscious that he was rewriting the United States Constitution. That document, composed seventy-four years before, had considered the value of Black slaves as three-fifths that of free people. Lincoln reached back to the Declaration of Independence declaring all men (and, implicitly, women) equal. He had every intention of turning this proposition into law but died although he died before realizing it. But even the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments could not make Blacks equal in American society. Still we should see Lincoln’s efforts as a way of bringing the American promise to perfection something akin to what Jesus does to the Mosaic law.
The reading from Deuteronomy today expresses the virtue of the Law God gives to Moses. “Observe (its statutes and decrees) carefully,” Moses says, “for thus you will give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations…” However, the Law lacked an inner dynamism that would provide the people reason and strength to live perfectly. That force is the Holy Spirit which lurks in Jesus’ words on the Mount and is released definitively in his death and resurrection. Knowing the power of his Spirit, Jesus can say, “I have not come to abolish (the Law) but to fulfill (it).”
The Spirit fills our being with the love of God, that is, His love for us. We become partakers of God’s very life which enables us to love everyone, even our enemies. In the process we are made God’s heirs destined to share His happiness for eternity.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday of the Third Week in Lent
(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)
There is a problem implied in Jesus’ parable. If one is to forgive continually, then what should be done if the servant who, after being forgiven his debt, then demanding immediate repayment of his fellow servant, and finally being reprimanded by his master for insincerity, were to ask for forgiveness again? Should he not be pardoned?
Obviously, Jesus would not agree. Forgiveness turns on the genuineness of the guilty party’s contrition. The servant shows that his original petition is insincere since in a similar case with roles reversed, he refuses to show mercy. The commandment to forgive “seventy-seven times” applies when the offender really intends to change his or her ways. If the request for forgiveness merely simulates contrition, one would be foolish to honor it.
We sometimes worry about the sincerity of our own intentions when we find ourselves confessing the same sins every time we go to Confession. Does God forgive us? We must never underestimate God’s mercy. It is more abundant that the grains of sand on a seashore. But God is also implicitly discerning. He reads human hearts with infinitely greater perspicacity than a copy editor reads text. He knows when we really intend to change our ways. But He also knows that bad habits are difficult to break and allows us plenty of opportunities to mend our ways.
(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)
There is a problem implied in Jesus’ parable. If one is to forgive continually, then what should be done if the servant who, after being forgiven his debt, then demanding immediate repayment of his fellow servant, and finally being reprimanded by his master for insincerity, were to ask for forgiveness again? Should he not be pardoned?
Obviously, Jesus would not agree. Forgiveness turns on the genuineness of the guilty party’s contrition. The servant shows that his original petition is insincere since in a similar case with roles reversed, he refuses to show mercy. The commandment to forgive “seventy-seven times” applies when the offender really intends to change his or her ways. If the request for forgiveness merely simulates contrition, one would be foolish to honor it.
We sometimes worry about the sincerity of our own intentions when we find ourselves confessing the same sins every time we go to Confession. Does God forgive us? We must never underestimate God’s mercy. It is more abundant that the grains of sand on a seashore. But God is also implicitly discerning. He reads human hearts with infinitely greater perspicacity than a copy editor reads text. He knows when we really intend to change our ways. But He also knows that bad habits are difficult to break and allows us plenty of opportunities to mend our ways.
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