Tuesday, April 8, 2014

5th Sunday of Lent


Today’s gospel begins by relating that a certain man, Lazarus, was ill.  Jesus is sent word of his illness – because of his deep friendship with the man and his two sisters Mary and Martha – yet he stays on another two days where he is.  When he does deem it time to head out for Bethany we are told that his disciples caution him against it saying, “Rabbi, the people there were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”  But his mind was firm…they would return to Bethany.  Here the courageous apostle Thomas says, “Let us go and die with him” – hardly a doubting Thomas he encouraged them to put all their trust in Jesus.  Jesus explains that Lazarus has died and that they are going to go to him.  John the evangelist points out that by the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.  By indicating four days John makes it abundantly clear that Lazarus was indeed dead.  Shortly before arriving at the village Jesus is met by Martha who tells him “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”  Jesus tells her, “your brother will rise again” and he says “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, even though they die, will live.”  Then he asks her, “Do you believe this?”  She replies, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  After meeting Mary, Martha’s sister, Jesus begins to weep and is ‘greatly disturbed’.  Some even question, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  Then Jesus came to the tomb itself.  “Take away the stone” he commands.  Martha protests, “Lord, already there is a stench because it has been four days.”  But Jesus was resolute, after praying to the Father Jesus faced the dark tomb and called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  And the dead man came out still wrapped in burial clothes.  And Jesus said, “Unbind him and let him go.”

When Jesus said those words, “Lazarus, come out!” it was both a literal command and a higher calling.  On the level of literal command Jesus’ words meant simply ‘come out from the tomb’, but they also had a secondary significance.  The word used for the command is unusual and is used only in one other place in Scripture, where Jesus invites (indeed commands) the rich young man to ‘follow me’.  Thus when Jesus calls to Lazarus into the dark of the dreary tomb he not only calls him in body but calls him to follow him in discipleship and conversion.  This fifth Sunday of Lent can we not see ourselves in that tomb – a place of darkness and lack of life – and can we hear Jesus voice calling out to us, calling us to leave that dark place of sin behind and to come follow him?  We are to hear his voice above the crowd speaking to us from beyond the grave of our poor choices as he seeks to, as the first reading indicates, open our graves and have us rise from them.

‘Lazarus, come out!’ invites us to hear the Scriptures speaking to us directly.  Sin in our lives is a type of bondage, a type of tomb, a type of death.  Jesus is standing at the tomb-like places in our life and in our society and beckoning us, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The places of darkness are often in areas of our own life, excesses, addictions, laziness, the coldness of heart that sometimes we allow to develop in us.  The places of darkness in our society, places where the loss of life happens as if by routine, at the Morgentaler clinic, among the homeless poor, those with mental health problems left to slip through the system, the lack of financial stability for so many.  These are the highways and byways where Jesus continues to stand marginalized and alone.  And we are to echo his voice so that others may live more decently – so that the most defenseless may live at all…for there are no rights at all when the fundamental right to life is undermined.     

“Lazarus, come out!”  These are words that are meant to cement our identity as Christ-followers, we are to come out of the shadows of our indifference and follow him, the Christ, the one who is the resurrection and the life.  Like Mary and Martha we are to lean into our faith when the going gets tough, when the losses stack up and threaten to overwhelm us.  When it seems we are a cog in a gigantic wheel and have no say in the right ordering of things.  When it appears the worst has happened we are to listen for that voice, ringing out in the midst of our tomb, ‘come out’ and believe…’come out’ and trust…’come out’ and pray…’come out’ and carry the cross which seems too much for you…for you are never alone and the one who beckons you is faithful, even when the most difficult is allowed to take place.  Do not give up hope.  Do not surrender hope.  It is then that He is calling you.  

3rd Sunday of Lent


Today’s gospel is rich in symbolism.  It begins in an unassuming way, Jesus came to a Samaritan city and, tired by his journey, was sitting by the well.  We should note that Jesus was tired – ‘a sign of his true humanity’ which can be seen as a prelude to his Passion (Benedict XVI).  Wells in the Old Testament times were traditionally places of encounter, almost like a courtship – a place of encounter between individuals who would later be married.  So here we have Jesus, tired out from his journey, sitting by this place of encounter.  He is thirsty, not just for water, but for faith.  This theme of thirst will come up again later in John’s gospel where Jesus will cry from the cross, “I thirst”.  While this thirst does have a physical component Jesus’ words go further and ‘imply a thirsting for the woman’s faith and for the faith all mankind (Pope Benedict XVI)’.  The woman’s curiosity is piqued – ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask me a Samaritan for a drink?’  The text tells us that Jews and Samaritans share nothing in common.  Jews and Samaritans in fact shared a common lineage up to a certain point in history, they are descendants from the same people – however, by the time of Christ, a long-standing divide existed between them.  Jesus goes on to talk of ‘living water’ – this ‘living water’ that he would give if he were to be asked.  Again the woman is cautious but interested in finding out more - ‘You have no bucket and the well is deep.  Where do you get that living water?’  Jesus does not directly answer her question but tells her that this water will become in the one who possesses it ‘a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’  Her response is simple: ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ 
The water in the gospel story “clearly” refers to the sacrament of baptism, “the source of new life for the faith in the grace of God.” The water represents the Holy Spirit, the gift “par excellence” that Jesus brings to man from God the Father.
“Each one of us can take the place of the Samaritan woman. “Jesus waits for us, especially in this time of Lent, to speak with us. Let us pause for a moment in silence in our room, or in a church or in a secluded place.”
“Listen to his voice that tells us ‘If you knew the gift of God…’,”
He closed with the prayer: “May the Virgin Mary help us not to miss this event, on which depends our true happiness.”  -  Pope Benedict XVI

After this initial encounter – when the Samaritan woman says – give me this water Jesus asks her to call her husband.  She responds by saying, I have no husband.  Jesus responds, ‘You are right in saying ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands and the one you have now is not your husband.  What you have said is true!’  The woman, rather than being scared away or accusing Jesus of judging her simply says, ‘Sir, I see you are a prophet.’  In other words, I see that you know the truth of my situation – you see into the disorder of my life clearly, without being told by another – you have spoken the truth to me.  She says to him, “I know the Messiah is coming” – when he comes he will also see into all truth.  Jesus says to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”  Without another word this woman of questionable reputation leaves her water jar and goes to spread the word about Jesus.  She leaves her water jar, that is, her old life, and pursues the new, telling others about Jesus, saying to them, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!  He cannot be the Messiah can he?”  Through her sharing many came to believe.  And then through that event many more came to believe because they asked Jesus to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.  Then they said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”  Here we see the grace of God’s spirit at work through Jesus – as his thirst is met with that of other thirsting souls – thirsting to know the truth, thirsting to be known, thirsting to be in the presence of God.  This is the grace given to us through our baptism and we pray that through our Lenten observance that our baptismal graces may once more be renewed.  That we, in a sense, might leave the water jar of our old life and pursue the new, telling others about Jesus.  We pray that this new water, which bubbles up to eternal life may come to rest within us by the gift of the Savior, who comes to console us in our moments of collapse and tiredness along the road of the cross.  As the second reading reminds us, “rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.  But God proves his love for us that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”  Christ has not abandoned us along the road of our lives but rather He seeks us out, be it in the good or evil circumstances of our lives.  He is like the one sitting by the well, attempting to woo our love, attempting to wed us to himself and his Church.  Seeking to dialogue with us through the Scriptures, through the sacraments, through our everyday lives.    All too often we are like the people of the first reading who quarrel and test the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”  But the Lord understands even this.  Just know that He is reaching out to you today, through the grace of baptism, seeking to reawaken in you his deep love; deeper than the waters of any ocean and more mighty than the surging of the sea.   We, each one of us, are the woman at the well, and Jesus approaches us each time we gather at the Eucharist to infuse us with new life, to convict us to turn away from sin in our lives and to be faithful to the gospel.  As we continue our Lenten journey may we do so with a renewed sense of his concern and call to conversion in our lives. 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

1st Sunday of Lent


1st Sunday of Lent
Sunday, March 9, 2014


The first Sunday of Lent is upon us.  Lent began on Ash Wednesday of this past week and here we are already at this first marker-point…the first Sunday.  I’ve asked some people what they are doing for their Lenten project or penance, some have given up a particular food or beverage they enjoy, others are even going to live without t.v. for forty days, some have sworn off video games, and some have neglected to make any commitment whatsoever.  If you are in this last category, make up your mind that this week you will commit to some project or penance – don’t let another week go by.  Your project or penance can have something to do with prayer, fasting or almsgiving – the three classic themes of Lent…themes which help us turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.  Especially to be encouraged is to approach the sacrament of penance, to go to confession so as to begin again with a clean slate.
Pope Francis took up the theme of confession recently during a general audience
“The Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation [...] flow directly from the Paschal mystery (…)  In fact, the same evening of Easter the Lord appeared to the disciples, closed in the Cenacle, and, after addressing to them the greeting ‘Peace be with you’, he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven.’”
This indication by Jesus, the Pope stressed, shows that the forgiveness of our sins is not gained through any strength of our own, rather it is a gift that springs from the heart of Christ Crucified and Risen.
Departing from his prepared statement, the Holy Father spoke on the reservations one might have to confessing their sins to a priest. “Someone may say: ‘I confess only to God.’ Yes, you can tell God: ‘Forgive me’, and say your sins,” he said. “But our sins are also against the brothers, against the Church, and for this it is necessary to ask forgiveness to the Church and to the brothers, in the person of the priest.”
The Holy Father also said that some may feel ashamed of confessing their sins. However, he noted, feeling shame for one’s sins is good because it humbles us.
"Do not be afraid of Confession!” he exclaimed. One who is in line to confess himself feels all these things - even shame - but then, when he finishes confessing, he leaves free, great, beautiful, forgiven, [...] happy. And this is the beauty of Confession.”
Concluding his catechesis, Pope Francis encouraged those who have not confessed, whether it be for two weeks or 40 years, to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible. “Jesus is there, and Jesus is much better than the priests, and Jesus receives you. He receives you with so much love. Be courageous, and go forward to Confession,” he said.
“To celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation means to be wrapped in a warm embrace.”

Today’s gospel alerts us to the fact that there will be temptation along the road – this we must struggle against the devil’s tactics.  Notice how he comes to tempt Jesus precisely at his lowest point – it is only after the 40 days, when Jesus is ‘famished’ –that the devil makes an appearance.  Yet we see also that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.  Thus we should never despair that the Lord has left us alone to face our trials, instead he is there with us whenever we face distress.  We, too, must guard against temptation, which comes to us at an unexpected hour, when we are weak and vulnerable.  We must keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Christ so as to walk the path that leads to life.  Notice that the Tempter came to Jesus with legitimate concerns: turn these stones into bread – for you are hungry – on the verge of starvation.  Then notice how the devil quotes the Bible to try and deceive Jesus – on the roof of the Temple he says to Jesus – throw yourself down for it is written “He will command his angels concerning you – so that you do not dash your foot against a stone”.  Apparently the devil knows how to twist truth to fit his own purposes, and Jesus responds to each of the three temptations by quoting the Bible to the devil. ‘Man does not live by bread alone’ and later ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’ and –when the devil brought him to a high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth and the devil said All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me  - Jesus said: “Away with you Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.”  The Evil One knows how to put something to us which is immoral and wrong but He dresses it up so that it looks good, admirable, desirable.  We need God’s wisdom to see through the smoke-screen and choose the path of right.  We see in the first reading how this has been a difficult proposition from the very beginning – when we see Satan once again as a liar and father of lies, when he declares to Adam and Eve that by sinning ‘you will not die – your eyes will be opened.’  The devil in his cunning twists the truth, but the Savior will, by his crucifixion, by himself being twisted and scourged by sin – will put things right again – so St. Paul teaches in the second reading. 

As we walk our pilgrim journey of Lent this first Sunday and first full week of Lent may we do so awake to the various ways that the Tempter comes to us – to silence our voice when the truth should be spoken, to undermine our faith when we suffer our poverty and limitation, to unsettle our peace by speaking half-truths to us.  If we fall prey to temptation and give in to sin, let us make the psalmists cry our own, “Have mercy on us Lord, for we have sinned.”  This plea for mercy is a good place to begin our walk back from the desert of sin.  It is to the one who cries out for mercy that healing is given.  As Jesus pointed out in the gospel, ‘worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.’
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P.S. Now for something completely unrelated.  This song has really got into my head! 
Click: Marty Robbins

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Better Late than Never...eh?


I realize this post is a bit tardy, almost a month has passed since I preached it.  However, I think it reads well even with the lag...

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 26th, 2014

The liturgy today deals with themes of light and darkness: of gloom and anguish… joy and rejoicing.  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in land of deep darkness – on them light has shone.”  These words are spoken of the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali – Saint Matthew remembers these words in the gospel as being fulfilled by the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is that light referred to by Isaiah, the great light – the light that overcomes darkness.  And the light that is Jesus is not dimmed by the passing of time; instead he longs to be the light in our lives – a light that extinguishes the darkness in us.  Nor is his call for some yesteryear, as we see him calling his first apostles today, “Come, follow me.”   No, his call is meant to be heard in our own hearts, as we go about our day-to-day lives – much like the apostles Simon Peter and Andrew.  And not only are we to hear, but the invitation is to respond, ‘Yes, Lord, I hear you calling me…I will go where you send me.  To wait on tables, to my place of work, to tend to my sick child, to answer the telephone, to my daily duties…I will go, and I ask that you come with me, do not let me go alone.’  We can also invite the all-holy one into our own darkness, especially that darkness which seems insurmountable, that area of our lives where we seem to always fail or fall short, this extends even to our place of despair, discouragement, and bitterness.  Perhaps it is possible to ask the Lord, in these situations, “Lord, come, follow me.  I want you to see this predicament; I need your presence in this storm, in this pain and sense of alienation.  Lord, come, follow me so that I may then follow you out into the light.”  It is to the light the Lord always wishes to guide us.  “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”  But this is no easy task…instead it is often very messy.  But God does not withdraw from us because of our messes, instead with great loving patience He draws closer to us – sending us helps along with way and enlightens our conscience by lights that come from within or outside ourselves.  Of course, these we are free to ignore or respond to, just as the fishermen that day were presented with the choice to follow him or not.  I wish I listened to these guideposts as regularly as I should, but I often struggle to do so because of fear.  However, sometimes I do listen.  There was an instance of this during the past week, it was getting on later in the evening and I was sitting up watching TV with Fr. McGowan.  He got up and left the room for something and it was like a little voice spoke in my heart – urging me to go to confession.  It had been a particularly rough week and I was in need.  A little struggle followed…“It’s late at night, Fr. McGowan needs his rest, maybe I shouldn’t ask”, but on this small point I was resolute, and when the padre returned to the room I made my request.  Although I had to fight to overcome my pride I was glad afterwards both for this small voice in my heart and the courage to listen to it.  I share this not to focus on myself but by way of example to share this concrete example.  No doubt there are many other worthy examples I might point to – but this one was ‘at my fingertips’ as it were.  I was grateful to the Holy Spirit for the nudge and grateful to have a priest in whom I could seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.  In this way the ‘good news’ visited me this past week and I was encouraged to follow the Light in the midst of my darkness, strengthening me for the path ahead.
On a slightly different note, this past week marked the week of prayer for Christian unity.  On Wednesday Pope Francis addressed this event in his weekly catechesis acknowledging that for one hundred years this noteworthy event has taken place.  He went on to reflect from today’s second reading where saint Paul asks, “Has Christ been divided?”  With characteristic candor he said the following strong words:

Christ was certainly not divided. However, we must admit sincerely, with sorrow, that our communities continue to live divisions that are a scandal. The divisions among us Christians are a scandal. There is no other word: a scandal. “Each one of you – the Apostle wrote – says: ‘I belong to Paul,’ ‘I instead belong to Apollo,’ ‘And I belong to Cephas,’ ‘And I belong to Christ’” (1:12). Even those who professed Christ as their head were not applauded by Paul, because they used the name of Christ to separate themselves from the others within the Christian community. But Christ’s name creates communion and unity, not division! He has come to make communion among us, not to divide us. Baptism and the Cross are central elements of Christian discipleship which we have in common. Divisions, instead, weaken credibility and the effectiveness of our commitment to evangelization and risk emptying the Cross of its power (cf. 1:17).

We pray for unity among Christians and unity within the Church.  May God bless us and still give us his blessing, for which we long, we desire and we most certainly need.  Dear brothers and sisters, a blessed Sunday to you!  Do not forget, He is our light and our salvation.  His words open up new vistas.  He sends us help.  It is up to us to respond with a willing heart.  Let us pray for this willingness at this holy communion and offer up to God a small prayer of thanks and praise even in the brief silences we find at this Mass.