Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

(Jeremiah 18:18-20; Matthew 20:17-28)

“The Repentant Magdalene” is a painting by the French master Georges de La Tour.  It shows a young woman in flirtatious clothing.  She sits at a table with a mirror, a lighted candle, and a skull.  She is obviously pondering which way she will proceed in life.  Will she continue drawing attention to herself so that might enjoy worldly pleasures?  Or will she follow the light of the world who calls her to self-denial?  This contrast resounds in the readings today.

Jeremiah is constantly plagued with rejection.  Not only is his call to reform spurned, but his life is threatened.  Yet he maintains an intimate relation with God whose message he speaks.  In the gospel the contrast is starker.  Jesus shares with his disciples the destiny that awaits him in Jerusalem.  He will be handed over, condemned, mocked, scourged, and crucified before rising from the dead.  Immediately afterwards the mother of James and John approaches Jesus with the request that her sons be given places of honor in his kingdom.  She evidently has not heard what Jesus has said about suffering.

During Lent we cannot miss Jesus’ call to take up our crosses behind him.  Yet the pleasures of the world continue to attract our attention.  They are not bad in themselves but often can be misleading.  We must choose which way we are to follow.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

(Isaiah 1:10.16-20; Matthew 23:1-12)

Abraham Lincoln was once accused of being two-faced.  He confronted the detraction by telling his audience: “If I had another face, do you think I would be seen wearing with this one?”  Calling another two-faced is a way of criticizing her as duplicitous.  Jesus is implying this criticism of the Pharisees in today’s gospel.  His evaluation has stuck.  Today being pharisaical means being duplicitous.

But the Pharisees were not necessarily bad people.  In fact, Paul says with pride that he was once a Pharisee.  They were men intent on living the precepts of the Law.  However, some Pharisees in Jesus’ day were more intent on being seen as living the Law than actually doing it.  Some of these accused Jesus of not obeying the Law while he was the one who lived it most implicitly.  He made no show of being merciful and pious but dedicated himself to the ways of God to the point of death.

In today’s passage Jesus exhorts us, his disciples, to follow his ways and not those of corrupted Pharisees.  He wants us to be coherent in what we do.  If we profess to love others, then we should be willing to help them.  If we mean to teach our children what is right, then we must act righteously.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, apostle

(I Peter 5:1-4; Matthew 16:13-19)

Pope Francis has alarmed many with his prediction that he will not serve very long as Bishop of Rome.  Although he appears strong, he has only one lung.  What is more, he is already in his eightieth year.  Nevertheless, he expends himself by going out of his way to be with the little people who matter so much to God.  He exemplifies as well as any other pope since those who were martyred in the first three centuries, the lesson of today’s first reading.

The passage underscores the pope’s and, indeed, all priests’ need of humility.  It expressly says that they are not to lord it over the faithful.  That kind of behavior would give counter-testimony to Christ who humbled himself to the point of undergoing unjust execution.  Nor are they to seek favors for their work as this would undermine their credibility.  On the positive side, they are to eagerly look after and encourage the faithful.  After all, only joyful care-giving will capture hearts for Christ.  Especially the Vicar of Christ, for whom there is no retirement plan, will necessarily wear himself out with such responsibilities. 

Pope Francis gives of himself so generously as an example to the rest of us.  He wants to encourage us to be humble and to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the needy.  Admittedly he sets the bar high, but we also are strengthened by Christ to serve one another. 

Friday, February 19, 2016

Friday of the First Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)

The elderly couple just lost their middle-age son.  Although they were deeply caring parents, they were not emotionally distraught.  When asked how they felt, they responded that they were at peace because their son had just returned to the sacraments after a long absence.  They were just grateful that God called him home in the state of grace.  Certainly the couple’s faith reflects Ezekiel’s oracle of today’s first reading.

The passage manifests the working of divine justice.  It describes God’s mercy obliterating one’s past sins upon repentance.  Discomforting to many, however, it goes on to damn the person who leaves the virtuous path.  The prophecy seems too rigid as it implies that a single indiscretion can obliterate a lifelong pursuit of virtue.  In fact, the passage considers this question but then dismisses it.  It implies that the person was not pursuing good for God’s sake but to achieve earthly reward.  God wants people to do what is right in response to his love.

The reading provides a sobering lesson for us.  We must not only do the right thing but do it for the right reason.  When we act out of love for God, we assure ourselves of His blessing.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C:12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

Skeptics will use gospel passages like the one in today’s Eucharist to demonstrate the folly of prayer.  They will say something like, “Lord, give me a million dollars.”  Because they never receive the fortune, they conclude that God does not listen to prayers.  Of course, they misunderstand what Jesus is saying.

Jesus’ premise is that we go to God as His children.  He wants us to develop a relationship with God that is as close as the one many enjoy with their natural parent.  One man recalls how his father was the finest person he ever met.  He said the father was not educated but intelligent and, more than that, truthful and caring.  Trusting that God is eminently like this, we will find Him responsive to our petitions. 

We develop a filial relationship with God by showing Him gratitude for all that we have.  We thank God even for our own handiwork because it can be ultimately traced to Him.  Then we ask God for what we need.  We will do it humbly because we recognize that He has already blessed us abundantly.  We will find our prayers answered as surely as the sun rises.