Thursday of the Second Week in Lent
Today we have the familiar and challenging gospel passage (Luke 16: 19-31) of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. I find that it’s easy to judge the rich man in the story and dismiss any personal association with him. After all, I’m not a rich man in purple robes dining on sumptuous feasts. But taking some time to reflect, I have to ask myself: Do I live selfishly, ignoring the needs of the poor? In my own pursuit of comfort, clothes to look good in, the pleasure of good food and a nice home, am I blind to those in need? Yes, we have some awareness of the homeless and those living in poverty, but what about the poor people in China and developing countries that are working for very little pay, often in unsafe or unhealthy working conditions to make the clothes we wear and the trinkets we buy? “More for less” the stores convince us, but at what cost? What injustices am I benefitting from?
Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent
When life gets tough, really tough, what do we do? What do you do when the very people who are supposed to be on our side, stand against us? The answers are as personal and varied as there are people. That said we might put the answers into two categories, complaining or proactively dealing with the sources of frustration. In reality, our actions are often a combination of the two approaches, and sometimes the suffering is beyond our immediate comprehension.
Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent
I have been thinking lately about what it means for me as a Christian to go through the season of Lent and about the possibility for spiritual renewal that Lent provides. It seems to me that Lent gives us Christians the possibility of a new starting point in our journey towards God. At times I’ve felt closer to God and at other times I’ve felt farther away. Yet it is often at those times when I feel the farthest from God that I realize that God is there with me and present in the situation. It seems to me that God uses these tough times to show me that he is there with me, and that he will never desert me.
Monday in the Second Week in Lent
Have you ever noticed how virtues and vices tend to travel in pairs or small groups? This sounds a little funny, but it’s true. For instance, when you see a person engaging in an act of kindness you almost always see generosity and patience and some other virtues operating as well. Likewise, when you hear someone make a remark that is judgmental there is nearly always condemnation and a lack of mercy involved. Unforgiveness has a tendency to associate with that group as well. The point is that vices and virtues do not normally operate individually or exclusive of one another, but rather present themselves together--in the form of a “movement” or an overall disposition of heart.
Second Sunday of Lent
I have some serious questions for us to think about this week. The first question is, “How deep do you think your relationship with God is?” Let me put this question in other words: “Could God take you for granted?” Now I want you to think about the most precious thing in your life – your marriage, your children, your job, your health, your entire life’s savings. And now think if God said to you what God said to Abraham – “Sacrifice what is most precious to you for my sake” – what would you do? Once God put claim on what is most precious to you, will that change how you feel about God?
I am wondering if we now have a better insight into Abraham’s dilemma.
Saturday of the First Week in Lent
In today’s first reading we have the narrative of the establishment of the covenant between God and the Hebrews through the prophet Moses. This ends the section of Deuteronomy (or “Second Law”) which expounds on the law. Both parties of the covenant – God and the Hebrews – are to keep up their ends of the agreement. The Hebrews “are to walk in [God’s] ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees” (Dt 26:17) and God will make them His chosen people.
Friday of the First Week in Lent
Today's gospel reading (Matthew 5:20-26) is one of those readings that makes people scratch their heads and murmur that Jesus's teachings are great, and all, but they're also just too idealistic. What can Jesus mean by comparing the traditional prohibition against murder with being angry? Who doesn't get angry? Isn't there even "righteous anger", times when we should get angry about evil in the world? And yet, Jesus is clear here: whoever gets angry gets the same kind of judgement - perhaps even worse judgement! - than a person who murders.
Thursday in the First Week of Lent
The psalmist in today’s psalm (138) declares, “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.” I suspect all of us can recall a time or times that God has answered our call for help. Certainly Queen Esther can. In today’s first reading (Esther C: 12, 14-16, 23-25), which is the prayer of Esther, she cries to God for help for her and the Jewish people who were uprooted from their homeland and had reason to be concerned for their safety. Not a well-known book of the bible, the book of Esther is basically the story of a genocidal plot against a Jewish people and how Mordecai and his cousin Esther - a courageous woman, prevented it.
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
Recently, a Catholic politician called a speech given by John F. Kennedy “radical,” so much so, that it made this presidential candidate sick. Politics aside the speech was radical, in that, Kennedy made clear that his faith did not take priority over the office of the President. Many people in his day feared that a Catholic President would take their orders from Rome. Kennedy wisely reminded the public that he believed in the principle of the separation of Church and State. The historical context and the public’s mistrust of the Church of Rome give us perspective as to the purpose of the speech.
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
As Christians we are called to renew our efforts at living the Christian life during the season of Lent. I find myself at this time of year thinking more about how to pray. The scripture readings for today help us to reflect on this question. In the first reading, Isaiah speaks of God’s promise that his word will not return to him void. It must have an effect, since God is powerful and does not do things for no reason, without accomplishing or doing anything. To show this, Isaiah uses a powerful image, comparing the words of God to rain that pours forth from the sky to water the earth. This water then nurtures plants and crops, which allows people to make bread. This image becomes more striking when a connection is made between God’s word, as Isaiah describes it, and Jesus. Jesus himself is the Word who is sent out into the world to do God’s will.
First Sunday of Lent
A sign on Interstate 75 caught people’s attention this Ash Wednesday: “Drive Through Ashes.” On Ash Wednesday the Mt. Healthy United Methodist Church I Cincinnati offered drive through ashes to somehow accommodate ashes into people’s busy lives. On the one hand this is very creative. On the other hand, Ash Wednesday is really not about the ashes, is it? Ash Wednesday and Lent are really not about finding a way to accommodate God into our busy lives. It is exactly the opposite. It is about bringing God to the center and finding a way to accommodate our lives around God! Christianity is not a drive-through spirituality. It is about pausing, about slowing down, about setting aside time for something very sacred and holy.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
As we close these opening days of Lent and enter into the first full week of this penitential season we reflect in a particular way on our sinfulness and on penance as reparation for it.
Lent is a season of increased fasting, almsgiving, and prayer—all practices of penance, that is expressions of our sorrow for sin and our commitment to lead a better life. Good practices of penance cause us to reflect more deeply on our own sinfulness and draw us into solidarity with others throughout the world, especially the poor.
Friday after Ash Wednesday
A friend of mine is a Carmelite nun who spends at least half the year in prayer and contemplation at a small hermitage. (The rest of the time, the community is called from their contemplation to acts of service.) Contemplatives are sometimes seen as strange because they sometimes speak of spiritual experiences - everything from prayers in which God speaks so clearly it is impossible to miss, to visions, to levitation and more. In our scientific culture, this can seem a bit much to accept at face value, and these experiences usually get explained away by psychology, biology and so on. But nonetheless, there are numerous people who are attracted to my friend and her community precisely because they have had some kind of experience of God that they can't reconcile with what the world tells them about it. The community's visitor book is filled with guests' descriptions of their own encounters.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Lent has begun, and we will be hearing selections from the Hebrew exodus in the Old Testament. In today’s passage from Deuteronomy, Moses presents the Israelite people with a choice: they can choose either life or death, blessing or curse, the one true God or many false gods and idols. This choice is a constant theme throughout the Old Testament, and the Hebrew people struggle, sometimes choosing false gods, and sometimes turning to God. It is a choice and a struggle that has great consequences. In choosing for God, the people can be assured of God’s protections. In abandoning God, however, the people may face their own destruction.
Ash Wednesday
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie that was life changing? When we encounter such an instrument of transformation we tend to want to tell others. How do we promote that which gave us joy or caused profound healing in us? We do not simply talk about it, we express our thoughts or feelings passionately. Our excitement is what draws others to the book or movie. This is what an ambassador does; they represent an organization or country and work as a messenger of good will.
Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
In the gospel for today, Jesus speaks of the need to become like children. If we do so, he says, it will make it much easier for us to receive God. It seems to me that Jesus’ words in the scripture for today can easily be misunderstood or misrepresented. First, Jesus might be taken to be saying that we should remain ignorant of the truth, but that would be a mistake. Children are not ignorant. They know many things, and they are very eager to know more and more about the world around them and the people in their lives. It seems to me that adult Christians, if we really desire to love God, will want to learn more and more about God and the world that God has created. The other mistake is to see Jesus as saying that we must develop a servile attitude towards others and allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. This too would be a mistake. We are called to live out our love for God in the service of others, yet we should experience this service as liberating and life giving and not as a life of bondage and servitude.
Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
The first book that I ever read was “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss. I remember struggling with certain words and my mom patiently and lovingly reminding me to “sound it out.” But sometimes I found a word to be too challenging and my mom would eventually step in and say the word that was too difficult for me to read on my own. And as much as I honestly needed her help, in the stubbornness of a young child, I told her “Don’t tell me the word, Mom! I can do it on my own!” So, in my frustration, I would start the book over with the very first sentence. I would start over because my mentality was, “If I needed help, I didn’t really read the entire book all the way through.” I wanted to do it on my own! I recall going through two or three iterations of me obviously needing help, my mom helping me, and then starting the book over because I didn’t do it on my own. Eventually I finished the book without assistance, but many years later I find myself sometimes struggling with the same problem. No, I don’t struggle with reading “Green Eggs and Ham.” At 26 years old, I’ve mastered it. But I do struggle sometimes with admitting that I need assistance and I am often not ready to humble myself or show weakness. I sometimes still want to do it on my own.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
We might be inclined to focus on the story of the paralytic which is a rather impressive story of faith and healing. As I read the reading very carefully, I also realized that there is a theme hidden in the first reading and the gospel reading that can easily get glossed over. The very last sentence of the first reading says, “It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more.” (Is 43:25) And then in today’s gospel reading, when the paralytic is lowered down from the roof, Jesus’ first response was “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Are the readings really, then, drawing our attention to the concept of sin? I am inclined to think they are.
Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
After listening to today’s readings, one is struck by the theme of tongues, mouths, and speech.
In today’s first reading, St. James warns us to watch our tongues. Here, James uses “tongue” to refer to “speech” and even more specifically, “teaching.” Indeed, he warns at the outset that not “Not many of you should become teachers” (Jas 3:1) because of our capacity to fall short with our tongues. James was deeply concerned about the authenticity of Christian teaching in the early Church, making sure that the gospel was passed on properly.