Godsmacked

One thing I’m coming to appreciate this Lent is that old habits die hard…and that old bad habits die harder.  Just when I seem to be making some progress…bam!  a setback…or two…or three.  It makes some sense to me that the psalmist today implores us, “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.”  It is a daily walk – a tenacious struggle – one in which the Enemy does not give an inch. 

The twisted logic of evil is on display in today’s gospel.  How could otherwise learned and virtuous men get things so terribly wrong – accusing the very Son of Justice of being in cahoots with the chief of demons?  Instead of learning from Jesus’ wisdom some in the crowd accused him of affiliation with the devil…all this while Jesus healed and did good to those afflicted with disability, disease and demons.  It is clear that being around Jesus is not enough – not even being witness to his miracles is enough – because the Enemy’s twisted logic of suspicion and malice can infect the minds of good people.  Jesus, for his part, does not launch into a major assault on those who dispute his good works, he doesn’t mount a stunning defense – he gently warns them that “the kingdom of God has come near.”

As we continue our perilous Lenten journey with its various graces, challenges and even setbacks…let us recognize that at this Mass the “kingdom of God” once again comes near.  And more to the point – the king of that kingdom condescends heaven to be consumed by us.  There is nothing we could ever do, no matter how great, so as to earn this gift which is given so freely – to sinner and saint.

Thank God for the gift of our faith, the gift of the Church, and for the call to holiness without which our lives would lose traction.  As Saint John Paul II pointed out:

We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures.  We are the sum of the Father’s love for us and of our real capacity to become the image of his Son.