Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
(Jeremiah7:23-28; Luke 11:14-23)
For a long, long time people have known that smoking cigarettes is harmful. Many years ago the older generation would discourage the practice by telling its youth that smoking stunted growth. When scientists linked cancer to smoking, a warning was put on cigarette packages saying the Surgeon General advises that use of the product is detrimental to health. Still people have persisted in the vice, in some cases to this very day. The readings today indicate a similar hard-headedness regarding reckless activity.
Jeremiah sounds resigned to the intransigence of the people’s inclination toward evil. Speaking on behalf of the Lord, he says that the people never have adopted God’s ways and now act worse then ever. Even Jesus is not able to convert everyone to righteous ways. The people dismiss him with the absurd charge that he casts out demons because he is one.
The situation, however, is not hopeless. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can reject evil and learn to do good. Lent points us in the right direction and gives us impetus to move. Then, developing virtue by daily practice of what is true, we recognize in Jesus not just our teacher but our rescuer in moments of weakness.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent
(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
In a touching reminiscence of the Civil War, it is said that Robert E. Lee enjoyed such great rapport with his troops that at the Battle of Gettysburg he rallied the men on the front line. The soldiers, however, held their commander in equally high regard and insisted that he seek protection at the rear. The readings today indicate a similar desire on God’s part to stay close to His people.
In the reading from Deuteronomy Moses urges the Israelites to heed the Lord’s commandments. He reasons that God is worth any effort on their part because He has always shown Himself at hand to help them. Of course, in Jesus God not only shows Himself as near but literally becomes one of the people. He fulfills the Law by giving new commandments which regard the right motivation more than mere external conformity. Even more significantly Jesus brings closure to the Mosaic covenant with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Only with the Spirit’s grace can women and men carry out all of God’s commands.
It may seem like there are a lot of rules and regulations among Christians. In a sense that is true. A child or perhaps a convert will find the “dos and don’ts” about being faithful almost endless. But receptive of the Holy Spirit, we need not worry about following precepts. The Spirit leads us to implicit compliance with God’s holy will.
(Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
In a touching reminiscence of the Civil War, it is said that Robert E. Lee enjoyed such great rapport with his troops that at the Battle of Gettysburg he rallied the men on the front line. The soldiers, however, held their commander in equally high regard and insisted that he seek protection at the rear. The readings today indicate a similar desire on God’s part to stay close to His people.
In the reading from Deuteronomy Moses urges the Israelites to heed the Lord’s commandments. He reasons that God is worth any effort on their part because He has always shown Himself at hand to help them. Of course, in Jesus God not only shows Himself as near but literally becomes one of the people. He fulfills the Law by giving new commandments which regard the right motivation more than mere external conformity. Even more significantly Jesus brings closure to the Mosaic covenant with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Only with the Spirit’s grace can women and men carry out all of God’s commands.
It may seem like there are a lot of rules and regulations among Christians. In a sense that is true. A child or perhaps a convert will find the “dos and don’ts” about being faithful almost endless. But receptive of the Holy Spirit, we need not worry about following precepts. The Spirit leads us to implicit compliance with God’s holy will.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)
Protestants often criticize the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest. They ask, “Why do you have to tell your sins to a man? It is God who forgives sins.” Yes, certainly sins offend God, and He alone can forgive them, but Jesus has given his apostles authority to carry out this function (Matthew 18:18). There is a further reason. When a Christian sins, she or he does harm to the Church which is entrusted with the mission of announcing God’s love to the world. Gossiping, viewing pornography, or cheating on taxes hinders the deliverance of this message. The readings today present examples of a sincere confession and what proves to be a faulty one.
The first reading pictures Azariah, one of the three Jewish youths chosen to serve the king of Persia, expressing contrition for the sins of his people. As the prophets tell, God desires such a contrite heart more than sacrifices. The servant in the gospel parable sounds like he has undergone a change of heart as he pleads with his master for an extension of his debt, but actually he has not. If he were sincere, he would show the same understanding to a fellow servant who is indebted to him.
All Catholics should go to Confession during Lent whether or not they are in mortal sin. The Sacrament of Reconciliation humbles us to admit that we make mistakes -- sometimes grave ones -- that divert us from the path of holiness. Also significant, Reconciliation reminds us that religion is not just a personal affair between God and me but a communal enterprise in which all of us have a role to carry out.
(Daniel 3:25.34-43; Matthew 18:21-35)
Protestants often criticize the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest. They ask, “Why do you have to tell your sins to a man? It is God who forgives sins.” Yes, certainly sins offend God, and He alone can forgive them, but Jesus has given his apostles authority to carry out this function (Matthew 18:18). There is a further reason. When a Christian sins, she or he does harm to the Church which is entrusted with the mission of announcing God’s love to the world. Gossiping, viewing pornography, or cheating on taxes hinders the deliverance of this message. The readings today present examples of a sincere confession and what proves to be a faulty one.
The first reading pictures Azariah, one of the three Jewish youths chosen to serve the king of Persia, expressing contrition for the sins of his people. As the prophets tell, God desires such a contrite heart more than sacrifices. The servant in the gospel parable sounds like he has undergone a change of heart as he pleads with his master for an extension of his debt, but actually he has not. If he were sincere, he would show the same understanding to a fellow servant who is indebted to him.
All Catholics should go to Confession during Lent whether or not they are in mortal sin. The Sacrament of Reconciliation humbles us to admit that we make mistakes -- sometimes grave ones -- that divert us from the path of holiness. Also significant, Reconciliation reminds us that religion is not just a personal affair between God and me but a communal enterprise in which all of us have a role to carry out.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)
The number of Christians in Palestine today is dwindling. Restricted by Israeli preoccupation with security and Muslim radicalism, native Christians of Israel are emigrating to places where they can live in peace. Theirs is the fate that Jesus experiences in the gospel today.
It is curious that Jesus speaks of rejection on the part of his townspeople. He has just inaugurated his ministry with a reading from Isaiah to which the citizenry of Nazareth responds favorably. Then the people start questioning, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” as if they mean to deny any authorization of Jesus from on high. Next Jesus exposes their refusal to believe in him, and they in turn run him out of town.
We must take care not to do the same thing. How can this happen? The attempt to find the “historical Jesus” through scholarship has led to skepticism about his divine origin. Certainly biblical scholarship has contributed abundantly toward real faith. But we have to remember that the original authors recognized Jesus’ uniqueness. They had a vantage point because of their proximity to Jesus’ life and possibly their association with Jesus’ disciples which scholars today for all there eruditeness cannot approach. It is their faith in Jesus as Lord that has been handed down to us.
(II Kings 5:1-15ab; Luke 4:24-30)
The number of Christians in Palestine today is dwindling. Restricted by Israeli preoccupation with security and Muslim radicalism, native Christians of Israel are emigrating to places where they can live in peace. Theirs is the fate that Jesus experiences in the gospel today.
It is curious that Jesus speaks of rejection on the part of his townspeople. He has just inaugurated his ministry with a reading from Isaiah to which the citizenry of Nazareth responds favorably. Then the people start questioning, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” as if they mean to deny any authorization of Jesus from on high. Next Jesus exposes their refusal to believe in him, and they in turn run him out of town.
We must take care not to do the same thing. How can this happen? The attempt to find the “historical Jesus” through scholarship has led to skepticism about his divine origin. Certainly biblical scholarship has contributed abundantly toward real faith. But we have to remember that the original authors recognized Jesus’ uniqueness. They had a vantage point because of their proximity to Jesus’ life and possibly their association with Jesus’ disciples which scholars today for all there eruditeness cannot approach. It is their faith in Jesus as Lord that has been handed down to us.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Friday of Second Week in Lent
(Genesis 37:3-4.12-13a.17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43.45-46)
A prototype serves as a functional model. It leads to the final product but lacks the latter's fullness. Shortly before the advent of the personal computer, IBM marketed a typewriter with memory. That short-lived invention was a proto-type. The readings today contain another.
Pairing the Old Testament reading with the gospel today reveals Joseph as a prototype of Jesus. Like Joseph, Jesus is betrayed by his own people, handed over to foreigners, and suffers hardship despite his being completely innocent. Also, both the story of Joseph and that of Jesus turn out glorious. However, the outcome in Jesus’ case, soars beyond Joseph’s. Where Joseph merely thrives in captivity, Jesus rises from the dead.
Both narratives also remind us that our destiny is not in the hands of the people who do us injustice. God will make the ultimate decision regarding our lives. Whether we look out over the city from a spacious office or sweep floors in the basement, we want to live in a way that gives God glory. We then may hope that He will forgive any faults that we have, recognize our good efforts, and redeem us from even death itself.
(Genesis 37:3-4.12-13a.17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43.45-46)
A prototype serves as a functional model. It leads to the final product but lacks the latter's fullness. Shortly before the advent of the personal computer, IBM marketed a typewriter with memory. That short-lived invention was a proto-type. The readings today contain another.
Pairing the Old Testament reading with the gospel today reveals Joseph as a prototype of Jesus. Like Joseph, Jesus is betrayed by his own people, handed over to foreigners, and suffers hardship despite his being completely innocent. Also, both the story of Joseph and that of Jesus turn out glorious. However, the outcome in Jesus’ case, soars beyond Joseph’s. Where Joseph merely thrives in captivity, Jesus rises from the dead.
Both narratives also remind us that our destiny is not in the hands of the people who do us injustice. God will make the ultimate decision regarding our lives. Whether we look out over the city from a spacious office or sweep floors in the basement, we want to live in a way that gives God glory. We then may hope that He will forgive any faults that we have, recognize our good efforts, and redeem us from even death itself.
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