Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Scripture Readings
One of the debates we encounter throughout John's Gospel, for example in today's reading, is the issue of what constitutes work on the Sabbath. In the case of these readings, the question revolves around healing. Can one heal on the Sabbath? Jesus' answer would clearly be yes, one can heal on the Sabbath. But there is far more than simply the first century Jewish debate about what constitutes working on the Sabbath at issue here in today's Gospel text.
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
“Sir, come down before my son dies.”
In the 1st century, Herodians looked down on Galileans as “less than.” So it is astounding that a royal official respectfully seeks out a peasant of low stock, Jesus of Nazareth. Doing so, his reputation would have suffered among the other officials, becoming an object of scorn if word got out.
The Herodians were one of several Jewish sects and all sects desired independence from Rome. But for the Herodians it took the form of replacing one tyranny for another, making mad and malignant Herod and his descendants absolute monarchs. (Mad and malignant leaders with cult-like followers remain with us to this day, even in 21st century America.)
Jesus is addressed as “sir” a dozen times in the Gospels. Despite the official's frustration, he puts aside cultural taboos by acknowledging Jesus as such. The term shows respect and honor, neither which the Romans or Herodians gave to Galileans.
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel is very much about pride. Through the Pharisee and the tax collector, this reading gives us insight into the Lenten practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. In the Pharisee, we see how fasting and almsgiving can be used to boost our own ego as he felt superior to others because of doing these religious practices. His prayer is interesting too. Even though he addressed God, Jesus described the Pharisee’s prayer by saying that the Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself.” Jesus seemed to be implying that prayers that are self-glorifying aren’t really prayers, but pep talks which God can’t seem to respond to. On the other hand, the tax collector acknowledged his need for God’s mercy. Through this parable, Jesus taught what is reflected in today’s Responsorial Psalm and first reading: God wants a “contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled,” (Psalm 51:19). How have you offered a contrite and humble spirit to God this Lent?
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
This may sound strange, but sometimes I forget that God is God and I don’t have to carry the burden of the world (or even of my clients or family members) alone. I don’t want to believe that I think I am God (or a god or goddess), but I’m aware that I am at times guilty of acting or thinking/worrying as if it’s all up to me. It’s actually a relief to me when I have those moments of realization, as arrogant as it sounds, that I am not God! One of my favorite prayers is a rather simple and honest one of Pope Saint John XXIII who apparently would say before sleep at the end of the day, “It’s your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed!”
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
This year I decided to listen to the “Bible in the Year” podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz as a New Year’s resolution. Although we are only in March, I have noted that much of scripture is focused on looking back and learning from past experiences. Today’s readings seem to echo this concept of reflection; I realize that using this mindset can be a valuable approach to growing in faith.
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Our readings today have much to say to us about hearing, receiving, obeying, and passing on God’s Word. I submit that the integrity and fruitfulness of this fidelity on the part of God’s people depends on the extent of our love for God. May we learn love as the key to obedience.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
I sometimes wish that I had a more dramatic conversion narrative. Having grown up in a Christian home and accepting Christianity from an earlier age, I have sometimes envied those who have more of a personal story to tell about their faith. It has often seemed that it would mean more to me or be more ‘real’ if I did have such a story to tell. I sometimes find it hard to relate to the man in the story, who is described as a great debtor, because I often don’t think of myself in those terms. And yet I know the story is meant for me just as much as for anyone else. I think Jesus is cautioning Peter (and us) here about not taking our salvation for granted. No matter what we think we have been saved from, we still need to work on forgiving others.
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
When the people of Nazareth heard Jesus they were filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through them and went away. Luke 4:28-30
We are so used to seeing Jesus as the face of the God of love that we forget that he was an agitator. This is especially true in our first written Gospel, Mark, who supplied the basis for Matthew & Luke.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s readings teach us about God’s mercy. In the first reading from the book of the prophet Micah, we learn that God forgives and doesn’t hold grudges. God even finds joy in giving mercy. Micah used the imagery of God as a shepherd who guides us and cares for us. Today’s Gospel tells the parable of the prodigal son. In this story, a father had two sons and one of them left the family and squandered his inheritance. Realizing the error of his ways, he returned home, expecting to be treated as one of his father’s workers rather than his son. On the contrary, his father took him back and celebrated the son’s homecoming. God’s mercy is like that of the father in the parable. God rejoices when we return to God. Through God’s mercy, we experience God’s compassion and joy.
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes”
Jesus refers to this passage from Psalm 118 in today’s Gospel after sharing the parable of the farmer whose servants and son are all killed by the greedy tenants of his vineyard. When Jesus asks the chief priests and Pharisees if they have ever heard this Scripture, they understand the connection between the parable and their lived experience. Perhaps it is easy enough for us, living over two thousand years later, to see the truth of this psalm throughout scripture. In today’s first reading, we hear about Joseph, rejected by his brothers and sold to the Ishmaelites. Although we don’t hear the whole story today, we know how it ends, with Joseph, the rejected stone, becoming a cornerstone to save Egypt during a famine. We know the parable that Jesus shares in today’s Gospel actually refers to him, the son of God, rejected and crucified, the cornerstone of our salvation.
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Scripture Readings
You’ve probably heard the saying something like, “people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.” I think there’s some truth to that, at least when we are in a closed or resistant frame of mind, or maybe in denial about something. Our perceptions can be influenced by what we believe to be true (or not true). Unfortunately, this can result in “blind spots” or a sort of selective hearing. This can be true in our spiritual lives as well. Today’s gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31), the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, provides us with a good example of just this sort of thing on two different levels.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Be a servant. That’s a pretty clear call of our Lord in the Gospel, isn’t it? Our fallen nature wants to be served, to be esteemed, to think of ourselves as better or more deserving than others. But at the foot of the Cross, if we’re willing to stand there and behold our crucified Lord, the perspective changes, doesn’t it? This Lent, as we behold the Lamb of God, the Suffering Servant, let us seek to serve others more and so to become the kind of servants who love like Jesus does.
Tuesday of the Second Week of 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 of the Second Week in Lent
Today’s Gospel is the middle section of what has been called Luke’s “Discipleship Manual.” Here Jesus lays out (similar to Matthew 5-7) a “how to be a disciple.”
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Today’s Gospel is challenging, especially the last line, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I’m reminded of when I was growing up, my parents told me to not just get good grades or even all As but perfect grades with no wrong answers. Even if extra credit was offered, those answers had to be correct too.
Friday of the First Week of Lent
“Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?” (Ezekiel 18:23a) Although the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel tells us this was God’s rhetorical-like question, I found myself asking myself that question as I read today’s first reading. If I’m completely honest, I have (like most people, I suspect), enjoyed an occasional Good vs Evil movie or novel in which the wicked character dies, especially if their death involves what we perceive to be much deserved suffering. And I’m sure I have been tempted to rejoice at the actual death of a seemingly evil or wicked person. Whether or not we derive any pleasure from the death of a wicked person, thankfully our God does not.
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Peter. The gospel highlights the crucial point in St. Peter’s life where he proclaims his faith in Jesus as the Christ. This time of Lent provides us an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with Jesus and how we can grow in our faith. When Jesus asks us the question, “Who do you say that I am?” how will we respond?
Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
“Show us a sign.” That unholy request rings out many times throughout the Gospels. Religious leaders and even the disciples ask Jesus for signs. Implicit in this plea is the desire for proof – show us some sign so that we might have evidence of who you are and from whence you’ve come. Our Lord doesn’t need to prove himself to us; we ought to prove ourselves to him by responding to his self-revelation, love, and invitation to life eternal. Let us seek to go deeper in our intimacy with God through more frequent reception of the Sacraments. It is by these efficacious signs of grace that we grow in faith and trust in God.
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 25, as proclaimed today, teaches of the universal call to holiness that we all share by virtue of our baptisms.
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Many things strike me from today’s readings. For instance, the visual imagery the reading describes when we turn to God. Our life will be like light rising in the darkness. We will be like a watered garden that has for its water source a spring that never ends. Our life will be like ancient ruins that are rebuilt.