Thursday, March 21, 2013

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent

(Genesis 17:3-9; John 8:51-59)

It’s ten o’clock on Saturday morning, and your eldest son Bobby is bouncing down the stairs for breakfast.  He has slept through the promise he made his younger brother to take him to soccer practice.  You ask coolly, “Have you had enough sleep, Robert?”   Of course, you are not really concerned about his health.  Your ironic question intends to make your son aware that he has failed to do as he said.  The Gospel of John frequently uses irony in such a way.

It is ironic that the Jews in the gospel today say, “Abraham died as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’”  They lack understanding that Jesus is speaking of eternal life whose fullness comes with the resurrection at the end of time.

We need not be particularly hard on the Jews in the gospel for not appreciating eternal life.  Its significance escapes most of us.  It is not merely life without end.  Nor is it spiritual life as some envisage a colony of ghosts in heaven.  Eternal life is new, extraordinary, almost unimaginable.  At the same time, recalling glimpses of the resurrected Jesus, we can say that it is conscious, corporal, and joyous.  We might compare it to hearing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with a chorus 100,000 strong, but it is really beyond our comprehension.  We can only wait in hope to experience it.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Daniel 3:14-20.91-92.95; John 8:31-42)

"There is not any reasoning which can convince me, contrary to my senses, that three is one, and one three," wrote Abigail Adams rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.  She was not a theologian but the upright, intelligent wife of the second president of the United States.  The same difficulty vexes anyone who relies on common sense.   It is why the Jews reject Jesus in the Gospel of John.

The Jews know where Jesus is leading them when he says in today’s gospel, “I tell what I have seen in the Father’s presence…”  Earlier in the gospel it was stated that they tried to kill Jesus because he “called God his own father, making himself equal to God.”  Being monotheists, as today’s first reading amply testifies, they will not tolerate any suggestion of two Gods.  Neither should Christians.

It is hardly imaginable, much less intuitive, how the Son and the Father are one God.  Virtually skipping logic, we call it “mystery” but hold to the concept firmly as the guarantor of our redemption.  Indeed, we posit a third figure of the one God, the Holy Spirit who completes the work of our salvation.  It is because Jesus is God that his death and resurrection have universal application.  It is because he is God with the Father that our deaths as well will blossom into resurrection. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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

The movie “Raggedy Man” tells about a disfigured war veteran who returns home to silently watch over his estranged wife and two sons.  The man, who abandoned his family several years before, eventually gives his life to protect it from intruders.  The story is reminiscent in ways of the gospel portrait of St. Joseph.

St. Joseph never utters a word in the two gospels where he has active roles.  Yet his contribution to the birth and upbringing of Jesus is palpable.  He gives Jesus the proper lineage of a Messiah.  Equally critical, he lives righteously carrying out the spirit of the law which, no doubt, gives example to the boy Jesus.  Prompted by the heavenly messenger, he takes the pregnant Mary into his home.  Moved again to save Jesus from the machinations of the evil Herod, he takes Mary and her son to Egypt.  It is assumed that through these trials and beyond he never has sexual intimacy with the Virgin Mother.

In our over-heated sexually and under-achieving morally society St. Joseph serves as model of goodness.  He reflects the truth that sex is not everything, but attending to a relationship with Jesus is.  Further, he inspires us to discern from our experiences as well as our dreams the vocation to which God is calling us.

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

(Daniel 13:1-9.15-17.19-30.33-62; John 8:12-20)

The Book of the Prophet Daniel was written in the second century before Christ although its context is sixth century Babylonia.  The author is critiquing his own times when Judaism, even in Palestine, was giving way to Greek culture.  The turnaround is portrayed as a social condition so perverse that judges give false testimony.  However, God comes to the people’s rescue through Daniel.  By saving a woman from the wicked judges’ lies, the young prophet restores virtue to the nation.

In Christians’ eyes Daniel prefigures Christ.  In yesterday’s gospel, which in two out of three years is read today, Jesus also saves a woman from stoning.  But today’s passage, which immediately follows yesterday’s in the gospel of John, likewise complements the narrative from Daniel by presenting Jesus as the light of the world.  He brings justice to the people by illuminating the road of righteousness.  Those who follow him live virtuously.  All other ways lead to perdition.

The last two weeks of Lent were traditionally called “Passiontide.”  We are coming close to fateful Jesus entry into Jerusalem.  We too must take sides.  Will we follow his light, or will trod darker paths?  Our destinies are at stake.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent

(Wisdom 2:1a.12-22; John 7:1-2.10.25-30)

Within a few hours after Pope Francis I was elected the other day, Wikipedia posted an article with the major facts of his life, including controversies.  The world hungers for information about the man in order to discern what kind of religious leader he will be.  But how can some facts reveal the dynamics of a mature person?  The situation is similar to what Jesus faces in today’s gospel.

The Jews question themselves on whether Jesus may be God’s Messiah.  They have heard of his mighty deeds.  But they have also received news that he is from Galilee, indeed from the insignificant town of Nazareth.  In their minds this latter fact excludes him from being considered as the Messiah.  For them it is as if he were not born within the United States yet was being considered a candidate for President.  But Jesus’ origin supersedes his earthly birth.  As the introduction to the Gospel of John specifies, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word (Jesus) was God.”

The point is at heart of our faith.  If Jesus were but an earthly messiah -- a righteous teacher, a martyr for justice – we might sift through his wisdom and actions for virtue to imitate.  But if he is from God, indeed if he is God, then he deserves our complete, implicit allegiance.