Witness of the Women

Gospel: John 20: 1-9

In ancient societies women were not able to serve as witnesses in courts of law.  They were deemed unreliable, liars, emotional basket cases.  And yet throughout the Gospels God chooses women to serve as witnesses to saving words and deeds.  First, Mary is chosen to be the Mother of Jesus, and she goes to tell the good news to Elizabeth.  The Samaritan woman at the well encounters the Lord Jesus, and she announces to her entire town his saving words and deeds, bringing all to faith in him.

Today we have Mary Magdalene and the other women who are the first to experience the empty tomb and to encounter the Risen Lord.  They are sent to proclaim this good news to others who will not believe that Jesus has risen until he appears to them multiple times.  The most important events in salvation history are entrusted to women to witness and proclaim to other - the coming of Jesus on earth, and his resurrection from the dead.  

Easter joy is twofold this day: first, that our greatest fear - death - is no longer something we can or should fear, for it has been conquered by the Lord; second, that our greatest prejudices are put to rest by God, who calls all of us as witnesses, heralds, and ministers of the saving words and deeds of the Lord Jesus - from his coming among us to his rising from the dead.  

What Have We Done?

Today there are no readings; the Word is silent.  In that silence he asks us: what have we done?

While we ponder that question, here is a glimpse of what he has done today:

"I am your God, who for your sake have become your son.  Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise.  I order you, O sleeper, to awake.  I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell.  Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.  Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image.  Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated."

(From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday) 

Keeping Vigil

Gospel: John 18: 1 - 19: 42

Recall the beginning of the Gospel when the coming of Jesus was announced.  There, we found men incredulous and religious leaders conspiring with worldly powers over the destruction of the child to come.  And in the midst of it all were two women keeping vigil - Mary and Elizabeth - the ones entrusted with the message and the promise.  

Today, the day of Jesus' brutal execution, we find the same scene as in the beginning of the Gospel.  Religious leaders have conspired with the empire to destroy Jesus.  The menfolk among the disciples have either betrayed, denied, or ran for safety.  And in the midst of a mob of religious fanatics calling for the death of Jesus stand a few women keeping vigil at the cross, their silent presence greater than any sermon could preach.  

Jesus did not find a hearing in the halls of the empire nor in the courts of religious leaders.  He finds no friends in the mob of religious zealots, nor even among most of his own companions whom the day previous he called friends.  But here are the women loyal and true as they were in the beginning of the story.  Let us imitate the women and keep vigil, and in so doing preach a more powerful sermon than any words could accomplish.   

So You Must Do

Gospel: John 13: 1-15

Today is the day Christians received their mission and call from Jesus.  At the Last Supper he provided us with two mandates: do this in memory of me; and, you must wash the feet of others.  The second command clarifies the first.  If Jesus fed others by the way he lived and died, so we too must feed the lives of others by the way we live and die.  If Jesus has washed our feet, we too must wash the feet of others.  This is the entire Christian life.

However, we have come to reduce both these commands to clerical rituals.  We have somehow taken Jesus' words of institution to mean creating a ritual of the Last Supper rather than living it out in our lives.  And we have taken the washing of feet to mean a sterile ritual we re-enact once a year in liturgical finery.  To highlight our lack of understanding, we restrict the liturgical celebrations to be celebrated by men only, acting as if that were the main point of Jesus' actions that night so long ago.

As we gather for tonight's rituals, we can continue to do as we have done for so long and see them as vicarious actions of exclusivist masculinity.  Or, we can take them as Jesus intended them to be: as ritual actions designed to inspire in us all a life of loving service to all people, as a mandate to bring the mercy of God to all in need.   

Is It I?

Gospel: Matthew 26: 14-25

How odd that everyone at the table objected at the suggestion that one of them would betray the Lord! Did they not know their own condition and actions? Why object if one were innocent? Perhaps it is because in one sense they were subconsciously aware of their human condition - that they all had it within themselves to betray the Lord.  Perhaps their objections were to protect their fragile egos that continually need reassurance.  Perhaps they knew that in one way or another they have betrayed the Lord.  

It is the same in our own cases.  We too object at the suggestion of betraying the Lord.  We invent categories like "faithful Catholic" and other fictions to insulate our egos, to put ourselves among the chosen, to run from our consciences and avoid facing the reality that we are indeed betrayers of the Lord in some way: in our neglect of the poor; in our abandonment of the elderly, handicapped, and mentally ill; in our creation of refugees and our subsequent rejection to help them in their need.  We betray the Lord in betraying our neighbor, in betraying humanity.

To care for the poor, to feed a hungry person, to visit the sick and imprisoned, to care for immigrants and refugees - this is to stand at the cross with the Lord.  To show compassion (literally, to suffer with another) and mercy is to not betray the Lord. It is to carry the cross with the Lord.   

Only One?

Gospel: John 13: 21-38

It is an ironic statement: one of you will betray me.  All of us have betrayed the Lord, and those who boast that they have not or will not find themselves like Peter who denies the Lord, or like the rest of the disciples who run and hide during the arrest, trial, and death of Jesus.  It is only a precious few - and all women! - who are at the cross with the Lord at the end, only a few who realize that to be a disciple is to take the way of the Cross like the Lord.

We deny and betray Jesus in countless ways each day: in our disdain for others; in denying dignity and worth to others; in neglecting the basic needs of the poor; in our preference for the wants of the rich over the needs of the underprivileged; in our endless pursuit of self-interest instead of the common good.  So many people are warehoused in prisons, hospitals, and assisted living facilities - people who are alone and abandoned.  We know they are there.  We know so many in need are there.  They are there because we have betrayed them. They will remain there because we deny they even exist.  

It is easy to scapegoat Judas and Peter, easy to think that only they have betrayed and denied.  That is much easier than to accept the fact that we ourselves have done so as well.  But the Lord will come to us by the seashore, like he did with Peter, and he will ask us - do you love me. Then he will ask us to feed his sheep.  That is our path to redemption - to say yes, and to feed the needs of others in our world.

Our Collective Sin

Gospel: John 12: 1-11

The poor we will always have because we are all Judas.  We steal from the poor each and every day, and we justify ourselves in countless ways.  We have far more garments than we need.  We could give them to clothe the naked, but we do not.  We have larger houses than we need to store the stuff we do not need.  All of it could be used to help the poor.  We could live in simpler homes that use less energy but we do not.  We could eat less, practice regular fasting, and use the money to help feed the poor, but we do not.

As a society we have the means to provide universal health care for all, but we do not.  We have the ability to provide universal education, college, and vocational training to all, but we do not.  Instead, we will build new stadiums for billionaires so that millionaires can play sporting events that we so desperately need to forget the fact that we have robbed from the poor individually and collectively.  We are the reason poverty exists.  

As Lent draws to a close, it is a time to reflect: did we learn the lessons fasting and almsgiving were meant to teach us? Did these practices help us to lead simpler lives, to be more merciful and caring for the poor among us? If not, there is always time to begin anew and apply these lessons to our life.   

A Tale of Two Crowds

Gospel: Mark 11: 1-10

Today we meet a crowd of foreigners who have come from Galilee and beyond for the feast of Passover.  They are familiar with Jesus, for he has been among them healing their sick, feeding their hungry, eating at table with them.  They follow him into Jerusalem for the feast and in doing so provide Jesus with a certain protection for a time from those who would do him harm.  This crowd will be sad later in the week when Jesus is put to death.

A very different crowd will appear later in the week, a crowd organized by religious leaders who have conspired against Jesus.  This crowd will arrest Jesus under cover of darkness.  They will conduct a sham trial under cover of darkness.  Then, they will bring Jesus secretly to Pilate and urge the Romans to execute him outside the city gates.  

With which crowd will we stand and identify? Will today's crowd be ours, the one that came to give thanksgiving for Jesus' ministry and love for them, the one that would like to live and act as he did? Or will our crowd be that of the religious leaders who seek the death of Jesus, the one that will choose a violent revolutionary and allegiance to imperial power over the Prince of Peace? Holy week is election week.  It is our time to choose where we stand.   

Conspiracy Theories

Gospel: John 11: 45-57

The single largest cottage industry nowadays is the development and cultivation of conspiracy theories.  Whatever you are unhappy about in the world, there is a conspiracy theory that will assign blame to some dark entity that is more than likely someone or group you already do not like.  It is a great way of avoiding any personal or collective responsibility for any problem individual or communal.  

In today's Gospel portion we find a conspiracy against Jesus, and we find him blamed for various problems real and imagined in his time.  We also see how Jesus responds to the conspiracy against him.  He does not allow it to run his life and dominate his thoughts.  In spite of the dangers, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, knowing it will likely lead to his arrest and death.  He is at peace with the situation, for he is in union with God.  

The reason we perseverate on conspiracy theories is because we find ourselves both personally and collectively under threat from them.  If true, these conspiracies threaten our status and power - and really we want to be the ones creating the conspiracies against other people. For we have given in to the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to our own power and status.  We must, instead, imitate the example of Jesus - to not fixate on conspiracies, to entrust our lives to God's will, and to accept whatever comes as God's gift to us.  

Putting Good to Death

Gospel: John 10: 31-42

"Many good works have I performed; for which of these do you put me to death?" This is the defense Jesus offers to his opponents.  We find the question and the entire scene as obvious.  Who could possibly put Jesus to death?  How could anyone seek to execute someone who has done such good deeds, one who healed those in illness, freed ones held by demons, fed hungry multitudes, one who calmed the storms of people's lives?  

And yet we do so everyday.  Consider: we witness a religious group - or any group for that matter - different from our own feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, performing all sorts of good deeds.  More often than not we see that group as a threat and not as a positive good in the world.  We are jealous, we feel threatened, and we want them to stop.  They are taking over the spotlight from our group.  We act as if we have a monopoly on the good.  So we seek to eliminate this threat, and by extension the good they are doing.

The disciples once complained to Jesus of a group of people doing good, but they were not of their group.  Jesus rebuked his disciples for this jealousy, and he rebukes us today.  For anyone who does good deeds to others is in Jesus' company.  Let us rejoice in the good deeds being done by any and all in our world.

Knowing God

Gospel: John 8: 51-58

How does one come to know God? The common answer is that a person is given an education about God through Bible reading, catechism classes, and the like from childhood.  But all of this is learning information about God from other people.  It is not knowing God.  This method is like hearing from other about some person you have never met.  All of their information is interesting, but we do not know that person at all.  Only when we encounter that person first hand do we come to know that person.  It is the same with God.

How do we encounter God personally? The Gospel provides a number of different places where people met Jesus.  It may be during a meal at someone's house.  It could be through overcoming an illness or calamity that gripped us for a time from which we are now released.  It could happen by being fed in a deep hunger, or a chance encounter at a well. Or it could be in our helping another in their need.  Whatever the case may be, we must be open to encountering God in various moments in our lives.

Lent is a time for considering more deeply the different moments of our day and seeing where we may have encountered God in our life.  It is the time for coming to know God for ourselves, to come and see for ourselves the one who is teacher, healer, provider, counselor, the one whose tomb is empty.

Universal Slavery

Gospel: John 8: 31-42

In today's Gospel portion we find those speaking with Jesus make the statement that they have never been a slave to anyone in their history.  The irony of the statement is not lost on anyone with a passing knowledge of the Old Testament, but leaving that aside we will come to realize that all of us make this same boast of freedom.  Each of us has this same false belief that we never have been and are not now under the yoke of anyone.

Consider our lives and what consumes them.  We live for our own self-interests every day.  We go to work as a slave to those self-interests.  We work to pay for our expensive houses, cars, trips, and other possessions.  When our possessions are threatened we become violent in some cases, utterly morose at their loss in most other cases.  We are not free but slaves to our possessions and desires.  

If we take the discipline of Lent seriously, the fasting and almsgiving we undertake are to free us from our slavery to these desires and possessions of ours.  These essential disciplines enable us to become poor in spirit, detached from all these things so that we might serve others with the same love, compassion, and mercy that the Lord Jesus did in his life on earth.   

Living with Misunderstanding

Gospel: Matthew 1: 16-24

Imagine being Joseph.  For his entire role in the Gospels he lives with misunderstanding.  He finds himself betrothed to a pregnant girl and he is not the father.  He finds himself protecting this small family, continually fleeing danger, eventually settling in an insignificant town where they could live a quiet existence.  Everyone thinks him to be the father of Jesus, even though he is not.

Then, after you die, people get the idea you were an old man in the Gospel in order to preserve the idea of Mary's perpetual virginity.  You are not honored with a feast day until around the 10th century, and you are not even mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass until the 1960's.  And in all of this misunderstanding and neglect, you utter not a single recorded word.  You accept it all in silence.  

The life and legacy of Joseph provides us with an opportunity for ourselves to learn how to accept misunderstanding and neglect in our own lives.  By remaining silent and following the promptings of God in our lives, by doing our duty quietly and humbly - in these ways we come to serve the Lord and others who depend on us with great love.   

The Mercy We Desire

Gospel: John 8: 1-11

People bring a woman guilty of sin to condemn her before Jesus, seeking his approval for their condemnation of her.  Their interest is not in justice, any more than it will be when they condemn Jesus.  This woman is merely a pawn in their game, as Jesus will be later in the Gospel drama.  But Jesus will not be a party to their condemnation of her or anyone else.  

For this woman represents all of humanity.  Every one of us is a sinner, and sin is nothing more than adultery against God.  Jesus stands before God and the world, refusing to take part in the condemnation and execution of the human race.  Instead, he stands to plead our case, to offer us a path to redemption, restoration, and transformation.  

If we have received such mercy from God, how can we not show such mercy to others? Instead of supporting an unjust death penalty system and consigning people to a cruel penal system, perhaps we might instead develop well-funded prison ministry programs, re-entry programs, outreach to at-risk populations.  It is now our task to be Christ to the world, standing as a path of reconciliation and redemption instead of condemnation and death. 

Showing Others

Gospel: John 12: 20-33

Some strangers approach a disciple of Jesus and say: "We want to see Jesus."   In the Gospel story, the request is rather simple to fulfill: he just takes them to see Jesus who is nearby.  They have the opportunity to see and hear Jesus in the flesh.  They had heard about Jesus through a number of rumors, but now as they came to Jerusalem for the great pilgrimage festival, they can now see and hear Jesus for themselves.

But now suppose a group of strangers comes up to you and says: "We want to see Jesus." What is your response? Some might take them to a church building and put them before the tabernacle where the Eucharist resides.  Others might give them a Bible and begin a lengthy exposition of its contents.  Still others may suggest prayer and offer some techniques of meditation such as lectio divina or imaginative prayer.  

But they asked to see Jesus.  They do not want a symbolic or mental representation of Jesus.  They want to see Jesus.  The only way to show others Jesus is to live as Jesus did - to do deeds of mercy and loving kindness to others: to heal others in body, mind, and spirit; to feed them in their hunger; clothe their nakedness; satisfy their thirst; be with them in their loneliness and alienation.  Then they will see Jesus in you. 

By What Criteria?

Gospel: John 7: 43-50

The experts gathered.  Theologians and lawyers poured over the scriptures and the law.  They inquired into the background of Jesus, and they concluded he was not the Messiah of God.  Their sole criterion for making this decision was the place of Jesus' upbringing - Galilee.  The anointed of God cannot possibly be from such a place.  So it is written.  

But does such a criterion matter?  What difference does it make where the Messiah comes from? Is it not more important that he performs the deeds of God - saving actions of love and mercy that provide healing and nourishment to people? Leaving aside the fact that Jesus was in fact from Bethlehem, such a fact would not have convinced his opponents anyway.  They would have found another reason to reject him.  It is the task of the theologian and lawyer to exclude and condemn, to maintain power for the existing institutions.  It is not to seek the good.

Jesus does not institute a class of theologians and lawyers, though somehow they arose to dominate religion yet again.  Nevertheless,  he gave us all one simple criterion for us to follow: seek the good.  The person of good deeds is anointed of God.  Follow that example, the example of Jesus, and perform deeds of mercy and loving-kindness.  That is the only standard.  That is The Way. 

What We Know

Gospel: John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

The irony of today's Gospel portion is not lost on us.  The author intended this irony for his times.  Many claimed to know Jesus and his origins: a man from Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph, a carpenter.  What's to know? But they did not know what John had noted at the beginning of this book, that Jesus is the Logos of God and has existed with God from all time.  Had they known this fact, perhaps they would not have put Jesus to death.

But this same irony exists in our own time among those who claim to be Christian.  Countless apologists and theologians have Jesus all figured out, have the mind of God as their own.  Many Christians act as if this were the case.  We find ourselves in the same situation as the original audience, claiming what we ought not.  For in the moment of authentic encounter with God in prayer, in meeting one poor, in need, and in grief, we find out how little we really know.

We might object and say we would never put Jesus to death, but we do - every single day.  We do so in our unjust system of capital punishment, in our scorn and neglect for immigrants and refugees, in our lack of care for the poor and marginalized.  A thousand times a day we put Jesus to death.  Do we really know Jesus and where he is from? 

Authentic Testimony

Gospel: John 5: 31-47

Teachings and laws are important things.  They provide us with structure, and sometimes they inspire us with noble ideals.  However, at the end of the day, teachings and laws are mere words spoken aloud or dwelling on the written page.  They have no real meaning or existence outside the mind of people.  They exist as mere abstractions and as such are ephemeral.  

When teachings and laws are embodied in actions, deeds, and works, then they have real concrete existence in the world.  Jesus serves as the embodied Word of God in the world, the definitive expression of God's existence in the universe, the incarnate sacrament of God's love, mercy, and compassion.  That which was abstract and existing only in word and mind is now enfleshed and real for all to see in deeds of love and mercy.  

The only authentic way to give testimony about Jesus is to live as he lived - to embody in our deeds the love and mercy of God that Jesus embodied.  Evangelization efforts, new or otherwise, all fail because they are just words, ideas, abstractions.  They don't affect people's lives in fundamental ways.  Only a life of loving works can genuinely give witness to God's presence in the world. 

God at Work

Gospel: John 5: 17-30

What does it mean to say that Jesus is both God and human? The old metaphysical and theological musings are not of interest to people any longer - and perhaps they never were.  What relevance does this idea have for people's daily lives? This is what people want and need to know in the life of religion.  How do these ideas in theology impact daily life?

We have seen people argue about which commandment is more important - loving God or loving neighbor.  For Jesus to be human and God is to know that he represents all of humanity and God.  To serve another person by providing them with love and compassion is to serve God.  There is no conflict between the two commandments just as there is no conflict between God and humanity.  They are radically one, and how we treat one is how we treat the other.  

God apart from humanity has no need of grand churches or ornate liturgies, but wedded to humanity such a need exists for we human beings have need for beauty.  More importantly, human beings need love, mercy, and compassion.  To provide these for human beings in concrete acts of service is to provide them to God who dwells within each human being.  Each human being is another Christ whom we serve.   

The Priority of Love

Gospel: John 5: 1-16

Today's Gospel portion states that it was Jesus healing people on the Sabbath that led to opposition against him.  We can look at this conflict in two ways.  The first is one of competing duties or obligations: the law commands rest on the Sabbath; it also commands help for one's neighbor.  Jesus prioritizes the second duty; his opponents emphasize the first.  They claim love for God is greater than love for neighbor.  Jesus says that we love God only by loving our neighbor.  

Another way of looking at the issue is to look at the nature of the Sabbath itself.  God gave the Sabbath to provide a day of rest and healing for human beings who have toiled for six days.  The Sabbath is provided to heal.  To heal another person, in Jesus' view, is fulfilling the very purpose for which God gave the Sabbath in the first place.  Healing others is what the Sabbath is all about; it is what we as God's people are to be about.

We find many people today who will put attending church services, constructing grand worship spaces, and attending to the minutia of liturgical practice and dress as the most important thing of religion.  The teaching and example of Jesus suggests otherwise.  To follow Jesus' example will result in the same opposition he faced from religious leaders.   

Signs Again...

Gospel: John 4: 43-54

In today's Gospel portion, Jesus again grows exasperated over those who seek signs.  Their faith is ever dependent on an endless quest for signs.  Such is not faith in any way.  Jesus does heal the young boy in this story, though not in order to perform a sign so people might believe but rather out of love and compassion for the boy and his family.  There is a world of difference between the two motives.  

The definitive mark of authentic faith comes not in these episodes of miracles but rather in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Here is where authentic faith will be found.  What will become of the sign-seekers then? What of us? Will we be with the crowd calling for Jesus' execution? Will we be with the esteemed apostolic college who betrayed, denied, and fled the scene? Or will we be with the small band of women who stood faithful at the cross?

Lent is the time of year where our faith is put to the test in reflecting on these Gospel passages and applying them to our lives.  It is our time for committing to be with the women at the cross and not with the crowd or those of special rank and status who fail the Master.  It is also a time to stand before Jesus in our failure, not receiving his condemnation but only his question: do you love me? 

Ending the Cycle of Vengeance

Gospel: John 3: 14-21

The Old Testament is not unlike the tragedy cycles in ancient Greek literature.  There is an initial covenant between God and Israel.  The people then are not faithful to that covenant.  God then sends horrible punishments: floods, famines, exiles, mass killings, and other horrid things.  A new covenant is made and the cycle starts all over again.  If these stories were intended to instill obedience in people through fear, it has not worked.  It has only led to its opposite: aversion to religion and a loss of faith.

The message and example of Jesus was appealing to a world tired of vengeful deities and legal codes that were arbitrary, contradictory, and impossible to keep.  Jesus instead extends love and mercy to the world.  Love inspires us to great ideals and ambitious deeds.  Mercy is there for when we fail and need inspiration to get back up and keep trying.  All are invited to partake of the mission; all can attain its high ideals.  The burden is easy and light.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it.  What about us who claim to be his disciples? Have we come with saving deeds - deeds of healing and feeding and consoling like Jesus did? Or are we asking for fire to come down upon entire cities?  If we have not yet been about saving deeds, today is a day to reflect and commit to some: care for the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, the unclothed, the immigrant and refugee, the imprisoned.  Today - each day - is not about condemning but saving. 

When You Pray...

Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14

The prayer of the Pharisee is the prayer of the "faithful Catholic" - one that asks for nothing for the self-righteous have all they need in themselves.  They have given themselves the descriptor of "faithful" through a self-referential criteria that miraculously places oneself in this category.  The Pharisee places himself in the holy of holies, a place he is not worthy to be, and looks down on all others as unworthy outcasts whom in their minds God does not hear.  

The prayer of the Publican is the only authentic prayer any of us is qualified to utter.  It expresses our condition before God as sinner and outsider.  This Publican is a male Jew - he has the right to be in the court of Jewish men in the Temple when he prays.  But he places himself in the court of the Gentiles and sinners and utters his prayer.  His position is our position, the position of every single human being.

None of us is a faithful anything.  We are all sinners before God, ever in need of God's mercy, ever in need of mercy from one another.  If we look about the world and find it harsh, cruel, and unloving it is not because God lacks mercy but because we do.  To truly experience Lent is to become more merciful to others because we have experienced God's mercy.  "Lord, be merciful to me, a wretched sinner."

Our Discernment Tool

Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34

One of the great weaknesses of a law-based ethical system is keeping faithful to every law at every moment.  What happens when laws come in conflict with each other? Which one should we obey? For example, the law tells us to keep holy the Sabbath and not do any work on the Sabbath day.  It also tells us to help another in need.  Is it considered work to help someone in need on the Sabbath? Some say yes, some say no.  Jesus was condemned by many for helping those on the Sabbath.

But in giving us the law of love Jesus provides for us our tool of discernment we need to know what we must do in every situation.  Love demands care for others; that is always our first priority.  Everything else is secondary to this consideration.  It would be inconvenient for me to help the man harmed by robbers.  Temple duties are a pressing matter and need attention.  These are not as important as providing love and care to the man dying in the ditch.  

Over and above a law-based system of ethics we have the imitation of the example of Jesus for us to guide us in all things.  To be a disciple is to imitate the one we follow, the one we call Teacher and Lord.  The example of Jesus is one where love was always the guide in all actions of life.  The life of Jesus is our ever present meditation and discernment tool for us in how to live and be in the world. 

The Sign of Evil

Gospel: Luke 11: 14-23

Jesus heals a man by freeing him from a demon, from whatever possessed him and kept him in bondage.  People then say that this action is from the devil, not from God.  Then, these same people demand a sign from Jesus.  But he has already given them the definitive sign of God's work in the world: to liberate people from the work of the devil, from whatever possesses them and keeps them in bondage and apart from God.  

To suggest that this action comes from the devil is the ultimate evil.  To demand any other sign is an indication that we ourselves are the ones possessed by the evil one - possessed by our own egos and self interest, possessed by pleasures and ephemera, possessed by the lure of wealth, power, and worldly influence.  All these things were presented to Jesus by the devil; all of them were rejected by Jesus.  

Lent is our time in the desert to definitively struggle with evil and reject it as Jesus did.  Lent leads us to the great Triduum where we will be asked if we reject Satan and all his works, reject sin so as to live in the freedom of the children of God.  This is our time to be rid of the demons that possess and tempt us, to seek no other sign than God's work of liberation in the world.  

All the Laws?

Gospel: Matthew 5: 17-19

Today's Gospel portion is odd to us, for Jesus is telling us to obey the tiniest of laws in a tradition we have largely rejected in our practice.  Even Jesus himself found it to his advantage to violate some aspects of the law in order to heal and help others in need.  Even the most pious of Jews found it a challenge to adhere to the tiniest aspects of the law when laws came in conflict with each other - which one takes priority?  So, what are we to make of all this?

Earlier in this chapter, Jesus gave us the law in the Beatitudes.  These are the values and principles we are to use in discerning how to apply the law in our daily lives.  The values of being poor in spirit, meek, merciful, peacemakers, pure of heart, hungry for justice, and patient in suffering persecution - these direct all our actions and guide our discernment in how to live as God's people on earth.  

Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus apply these values to decisions he makes and actions he performs, right up to his death on the cross.  To be a disciple of Jesus is to follow his teaching and imitate his example in our own lives, discerning how to apply these values in each circumstance and situation we find ourselves encountering.   

Mercy for One and All

Gospel: Matthew 18: 21-35

"Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated.  If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing.  So, if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition heard, hear the petition of others.  If you do not close your ear to others you open God's ear to yourself.  When you fast, see the fasting of others.  If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry.  If you hope for mercy, show mercy.  If you look for kindness, show kindness.  If you want to receive, give.  If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery."  - St. Peter Chrysologus

When we hear that God desires not the death of a sinner but rather in the sinner's restoration, what do we who claim to be Christian do in response?  Is the proper response a death penalty system and a penal system built on retribution?  Or does the Church come together to develop a robust system of ministry in prisons, jails, hospitals, and other facilities of care?  Imagine if these became the primary work of the Church instead of what consumes most of our time.  Imagine if we showed the same mercy to others that we desire for ourselves... 

Care for All People

Gospel: Luke 4: 24-30

The consistent message of Jesus in word and deed was that God loves all people without distinction, regardless of gender, class, religion, or status.  He cured and fed all who came to him without precondition; he taught us that God provides rain for the just and the unjust.  If we who are evil know how to give good things to our children, how much more will God do for us.  It is a pretty simple message.

Yet, we find a lot of people threatened by this message, as we do in today's Gospel portion where Jesus' own hometown seeks to kill him for this message  Do we not do likewise? Jesus provided access to God for all, and we have done the opposite.  As religion is no longer able to exclude people in civil society, it does so all the more within its walls, limiting access to its schools, communion table, and even for a humble blessing.  

In the beginning God created one human family, one common set of parents and one common origin in God.  Since then we have created the divisions of race, gender, class, religion, and a myriad of other distinctions that have no basis in reality so that we might keep God for ourselves and exclude others.  The death and resurrection of Jesus restores us back to our original state in Eden, and we are to live as such by caring for all and making God available to all.

Avoiding Signs

Gospel: John 2: 13-25

"A sign is always less than the thing it points to, and a symbol is always more than we understand at first sight.  Therefore we never stop at the sign but go on to the goal it indicates; but we remain in the symbol because it points to more than it reveals." - Carl Jung

Jesus did not come to give signs; he did not trust those who sought signs and he called it evil to seek for them.  A sign for those who seek them is always the end in itself, and they never satisfy those who seek them.  Sign-seekers always need more signs to stay satisfied, like a drug addict needing ever more product.  

Jesus is not a sign but a symbol.  In him we can remain and be at rest, for he points to more than he can reveal to us.  As symbol he is more than we understand at first sight of him.  If we seek signs we miss the symbol and find no rest.  If we remain in the symbol we arrive at the goal, for we are with the one who can lead us to the goal we seek, to the more that lies beyond our limited vision can perceive.  The Samaritan woman recognized in Jesus the symbol, for she set aside her water jar - set aside the sign that could not satisfy in order to remain with the symbol who leads us to the place of complete satisfaction. 

A Tale of Two Sons

Gospel: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

At two points in the story of the Prodigal son we are challenged in our own thoughts and attitudes.  In the first instance, we see the younger son want his father dead, then waste all the riches and talents given to him.  We are repulsed by his actions, and we find the mercy of the father too much - this man who not only welcomes his son home and throws him a lavish party, but also went out in search of him!

But if we find that mercy one we can accept, we might find the second act of mercy hard to witness.  Here, we find the self-righteous, judgmental older son an unsympathetic figure to us. We find him hard to accept, and we might well find ourselves wishing the father cast him out of the house.  And yet, the father says to him - you are in my house always! This mercy might seem too much for us.  

Today, this story of the two sons challenges us in our attitudes of mercy.  We too are called to adopt this mercy of the father both toward the wayward son and his sins that cause us to blush, and we are called to adopt this mercy to the self-righteous son whose sins of not showing mercy we must forgive as well.  Consider too that God has forgiven both within our own selves, and so we too must find it within ourselves to do so in others. 

Leadership and Accountability

Gospel: Matthew 21: 33-46

Many Christians interpret today's Gospel portion as Jesus handing over leadership and authority over the kingdom of heaven to them.  As it was previously been given to Israel, so now it has been passed on to them by Jesus.  While Christians will revel in having such power and esteem, they are remarkably averse to accepting any responsibility or accountability in the present situation.

Today we find countless churches closing and a mass of people leaving church life and practice.  Those who have been harmed by abuse at the hands of the church - physical, sexual, psychological - those harmed by financial and other scandals of the church, those harmed by a system of ethical double standard, these victims are then blamed for leaving church life.  Blame for the decline in faith is put upon the devil, secularism, communists, Freemasons - anyone but those who claim the mantle of church leadership.  

When we read today's Gospel, why do we not see ourselves as those tenant farmers who have abused other slaves and killed the son of the vineyard owner?  For that is indeed who we have become, and that is why we read this Gospel during Lent - to repent of our failure as tenant farmers, to beg forgiveness for the many we have harmed by our corruption and abuse of others, to remember again the One who owns the vineyard in the first place.